What does sargasso mean?
Sargasso is a term for the brown seaweed that drifts in floating masses, especially in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. The seaweed is a genus of Sargassum, including Gulfweed, and forms floating mats or “islands” of vegetation on the ocean’s surface. The term is often used as an uncountable noun, as in “a mass of sargasso,” rather than to refer to an individual plant. In the capitalized form, Sargasso is also the established name of the sea where this vegetation is particularly abundant. The word has a maritime and scientific character and can evoke the unusual ecology of the North Atlantic’s only sea without defined coastlines.
nounA mass or tangle of floating brown seaweed, especially the Gulfweed found in the Sargasso Sea. The word can also refer to a particular kind of Sargassum seaweed.
- A mass or tangle of floating seaweed, especially in the Sargasso Sea.
- Any of several brown seaweeds of the genus Sargassum, particularly Gulfweed.
"The research vessel sailed through a vast expanse of sargasso in the North Atlantic."
"They found the sea turtle resting amid the sargasso near the surface."
"Marine biologists study the organisms that inhabit the Sargasso Sea's floating sargasso."
The plural is uncommon; the word is normally used as an uncountable mass noun.
"The researchers compared the sargassos found in samples collected from different parts of the Atlantic."
The Sargasso Sea takes its name from the golden-brown seaweed that drifts across its vast North Atlantic waters.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sargasso come from?
The word “sargasso” comes through Spanish and Portuguese forms referring to a floating Mediterranean seaweed, probably the same plant now called Gulfweed. The name entered English through geographical descriptions of the Sargasso Sea, where large quantities of this seaweed accumulate. The modern genus name Sargassum is also derived from the same historical terminology for Gulfweed.
How sargasso is actually used
Usually used as an uncountable mass noun. In its capitalized form, “Sargasso” commonly refers to the Sargasso Sea, while lowercase “sargasso” generally refers to the seaweed itself.
Easily confused with sargasso
Sargasso is the common name for a mass or type of floating seaweed, while Sargassum is a scientific genus of brown seaweed, especially the Gulfweed found in the Sargasso Sea.