English Explanatory Dictionary

sea change

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A profound transformation; a metamorphosis.

Pronunciation

/ˈsiːˌt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒ/ En-au-sea change.ogg

Word forms

sea change sea changes

Etymology

From Act I, scene ii, of The Tempest (1610–1611) by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616), spelling modernized: “Full fathom five thy father lies, / Of his bones are coral made: / Those are pearls that were his eyes, / Nothing of him that doth fade, / But doth suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange”. The passage refers to how a drowned man’s body lying on the sea bed had been transformed by the sea.

Synonyms

development transfiguration transmogrification conversion metamorphosis transfigurement transformation transmutation sea change

Related words

paradigm shift quantum leap step change seed change

Derived words

seachanger
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