gulf
//ɡʌlf//
Forms
- Plural
- gulfs
- present (v1)
- gulf
- past (v2)
- gulfed
- past participle (v3)
- gulfed
- present participle
- gulfing
- 3rd person singular
- gulfs
Definitions
1.A hollow place in the earth; an abyss; a deep chasm or basin.
- He then surveyed / Hell and the gulf between.
2.That which swallows irretrievably; a whirlpool; a sucking eddy.
3.A portion of an ocean or sea extending into the land; a partially landlocked sea
4.A large deposit of ore in a lode.
1.To award a degree to somebody who has only just passed sufficiently.
- The mention of gulfed and plucked men brings me back to myself.
- The good Professor scolded, predicted that they would all be either gulfed or ploughed.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3842
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English gulf, goulf, golf
From Old French golf
From Italian golfo
From Late Latin colfos
From Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos, “bosom, gulf”), of obscure origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelp- (“to curve, arch”).