gulf en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- gŭlf
- /ɡʌlf/
- (US) audio
- /ɡɒlf/ gulf-golf merger
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”).
Meanings
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A hollow place in the earth; an abyss; a deep chasm or basin.
He then surveyed / Hell and the gulf between.
1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:Of course, there was no arguing against this, but one thing was clear, we could not attempt that leap in the dark; the only thing to do was to wait for the ray of light which pierced through the gulf at sunset.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:For though my nature rarely yields To that vague fear implied in death; Nor shudders at the gulfs beneath, The howlings from forgotten fields; […]
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XL”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 62:It is told that that traveller came at last to the utter End and there was a mighty gulf, and in the darkness at the bottom of the gulf one small god crept, no bigger than a hare, whose voice came crying in the cold: “I know not.” And beyond the gulf was nought, only the small god crying.
1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods, London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 55:
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(obsolete) That which swallows; the gullet.
Witch's mummy, maw and gulf / Of the ravined salt sea shark,
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], line 23:
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That which swallows irretrievably; a whirlpool; a sucking eddy.
[T]here is no such mine, / None; but a gulf of ruin, swallowing gold, not making.
1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Sea Dreams”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 100:
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A portion of an ocean or sea extending into the land; a partially landlocked sea
the Persian Gulf
the Gulf of Mexico
- A large deposit of ore in a lode.
-
(figuratively) A wide interval or gap; a separating space.
`Behold now, let the Dead and Living meet! Across the gulf of Time they still are one.'
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 16:26:
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(figuratively) A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.
The result is a widening gulf between people’s reality and what they are relentlessly told they actually believe in and care about.
2023 August 7, Nesrine Malik, “British people are kinder and less divided than politicians give us credit for”, in The Guardian:Piecing together Corbynomics is difficult, not least because it has evolved during Mr Corbyn’s time in charge of Labour. The gulf between the Labour leadership’s past positions and the milder proposals in the manifesto means that enormous uncertainty hangs over what a Corbyn-led government would do in office.
2018 May 17, “Corbynomics would change Britain—but not in the way most people think”, in The Economist:Only the gulf between them was widened still further by the Negro cops in the precinct, bad-mouthing among themselves about their fellow white cops unnecessarily throwing their authority around and singling out Sullivan as a prime example.
1970, Wally Ferris, Across 110th, page 106:England were graphically illustrating the huge gulf in class between the sides and it was no surprise when Lampard added the second just before the half hour. Steven Gerrard found his Liverpool team-mate Glen Johnson and Lampard arrived in the area with perfect timing to glide a header beyond Namasco.
2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport:Rich countries must sign a “historic pact” with the poor on the climate, or “we will be doomed”, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has warned, as a deepening gulf between the developed and developing world has put climate talks on the brink.
2022 November 4, Fiona Harvey, “UN chief warns ‘we will be doomed’ without historic climate pact”, in The Guardian:
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(qualifier:Oxbridge slang) The bottom part of a list of those awarded a degree, for those who have only just passed.
Some ten or fifteen men just on the line, not enough to be plucked or good enough to be placed, are put into the "gulf," as it is popularly called (the Examiners' phrase is "Degrees allowed"), and have their degrees given to them but are not printed in the calendar, nor were they at this time allowed to try for the Classical Tripos.
1852, Charles Astor Bristed, Five Years in an English University, page 205:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| gulph | alternative | lexicographic | |
| gulfs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Gulf County · gulflike · gulfward · Gulfport · Gulf Stream · Gulf Creek · Roper Gulf · engulf · The Gulf · gulfy · Gulf War · Newgulf · Gulf Coast · gulfwards · gulfweed
Descendants
Hyponyms
Gulf of Salonica (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Panama (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Suez (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of California (geography: names of gulfs) · Spencer Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Oman (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Mexico (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Basra (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Aqaba (geography: names of gulfs) · Thermaic Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Thermaean Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Siam (geography: names of gulfs) · Persian Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Amerika (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Corinth (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Gdańsk (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Saint Lawrence (geography: names of gulfs) · Huon Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Coronation Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Thailand (geography: names of gulfs) · Corinthian Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Bothnia (geography: names of gulfs) · Van Diemen Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Papua (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Aden (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Antalya (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Finland (geography: names of gulfs) · Arabian Gulf (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Gaeta (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of America (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Carpentaria (geography: names of gulfs) · Gulf of Lepanto (geography: names of gulfs)
Relateds
Synonyms
rift (difference) · abyss (difference)
Translations (124)
lt įlanka (geography) · is flói (geography) · kmr kendav (geography) · et laht (geography) · ba ҡултыҡ (geography) · alt кӧлмӧк (geography) · fa-ira خَلیج (geography) · alt опкын (geography) · da bugt (geography) · sv golf (geography) · bg пропаст (abyss, chasm) · tt упкын (geography) · it golfo (geography) · prs شَاخَاب (geography) · sl zaliv (geography) · sw ghuba (geography) · zza zag (geography) · ja 湾 (geography) · gu અખાત (geography) · la sinus (geography) · nn golf (geography) · ca golf (geography) · id jurang (abyss, chasm) · hy ծովախորշ (geography) · nb golf (geography) · uz koʻrfaz (geography) · ka ყურე (geography) · es golfo (geography) · io gulfo (geography) · prs خَلِیج (geography) · ar خَلِيج (geography) · ota كورفز (geography) · bg бездна (abyss, chasm) · mi whanga (geography) · az körfəz (geography) · nl golf (geography) · ur کھاڑِی (geography) · ang byht (geography) · pl zatoka (geography) · sh за́љев (geography) · fr golfe (geography) · lo ອ່າວ (geography) · ur خَلِیج (geography) · fi lahti (geography) · cs záliv (geography) · mk за́лив (geography) · km ឈូងសមុទ្រ (geography) · kk шығанақ (geography) · ps خليج (geography) · id teluk (geography) · hi खाड़ी (geography) · ms teluk (geography) · pt golfo (geography) · pl rozbrat (large difference between groups) · sq gji (geography) · sh за́лив (geography) · hi उपसागर (geography) · he מִפְרָץ (geography) · grc κόλπος (geography) · th อ่าว (geography) · ko 만 (geography) · ast golfu (geography) · vo lebug (geography) · kn ಕಂದರ (geography) · cmn 海灣 /海湾 (geography) · kmr xelîc (geography) · af golf (geography) · lv līcis (geography) · hy ծոց (geography) · de Golf (geography) · ga murascaill (geography) · vi vịnh (geography) · be зато́ка (geography) · hu öböl (geography) · tl golpo (geography) · sh záliv (geography) · mk бе́здна (abyss, chasm) · ug قولتۇق (geography) · uk зато́ка (geography) · mk прова́лија (abyss, chasm) · pl rozłam (large difference between groups) · cmn 灣 /湾 (geography) · sk záliv (geography) · uz qoʻltiq (geography) · ru зали́в (geography) · nci āihtectli (geography) · grc χάσμα (abyss, chasm) · hy ծովածոց (geography) · yi אײַנגאָס (geography) · cy gwlff (geography) · ro golf (geography) · el κόλπος (geography) · alt булуҥ (geography) · da golf (geography) · zza ğalic (geography) · tr körfez (geography) · fa-ira شاخاب (geography) · ka უბე (geography) · nn bukt (geography) · ta வளைகுடா (geography) · bg за́лив (geography) · nog опкын (geography) · nb bukt (geography) · gd bàgh (geography) · eo abismo (abyss, chasm) · be залі́ў (geography) · atv кӧлмек (geography) · tg халиҷ (geography) · arz جون (geography) · de Bucht (geography) · bn উপসাগর (geography) · ky булуң (geography) · ru пучи́на (geography) · mn далайн булан (geography) · eo golfo (geography) · uk зали́в (geography) · sh záljev (geography) · de Meerbusen (geography) · ba упҡын (geography) · gl abra (geography) · my ကွေ့ (geography) · tk aýlag (geography) · sv bukt (geography) · tt култык (geography)