thalasso-, thalass-, thalassi-, thalassio-, thalatto-, thalatt- +
(Greek: sea, ocean)
Traditionally, there are five oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. The Antarctic Ocean, lacking any precise natural boundaries, is sometimes considered an extension of the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian oceans.
The adjacent bodies of salt water and various subdivisions of the oceans are generally known as seas, but local usage may also sanction such terms as gulfs, bays, channels, and straits; designations that are sometimes used interchangeably.
2. A hereditary form of anemia, particularly prevalent around the Mediterranean, that is caused by a dysfunction in the synthesis of the red blood pigment hemoglobin.
2. Relating to inland seas or minor seas such as the Aegean or to the deposition of fine-grained sediments in relatively deep, still water.
2. The sovereignty of the sea: "England's thalassocracy was chiefly responsible for her once-huge empire."
2. Maritime supremacy; ruling the seas; the sovereignty of the seas; mastery at sea.
2. A former continental creation that has been thinned and sunk to submarine depths.
Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving the "sea" and the "ocean" bodies of water: abysso- (bottomless); Atlantic; batho-, bathy- (depth); bentho- (deep, depth); halio-, halo- (salt or "the sea"); mare, mari- (sea); necto-, nekto- (swimming); oceano-; pelago- (sea, ocean); plankto- (drifting).