marginal sea

[ mahr-juh-nl see ]

noun

1. Oceanography. a division of an ocean that lies along a continental edge and is partially separated from the open ocean by islands, peninsulas, land ridges, etc.: for example, the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Philippine Sea, and Bay of Bengal.
2. International Law. a coastal body of water regarded in connection with the territorial waters of a state or nation, in that the territorial waters include a designated portion of it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of marginal sea¹

First recorded in 1805–10

Example Sentences

"Both the Korpfjell and Koigen Central licenses are within the reach of the historic marginal sea ice edge for the last 30 years," Truls Gulowsen, head of Greenpeace in Norway, said.

From Reuters

Supreme Court ruling that this "marginal sea," from low tide to the three-mile limit, and all of its wealth, belonged to the Federal Government, not the State of California.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Federal Government, which recently won title to California's oil-rich marginal sea lands, tempered victory with mercy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ickes, said Ickes, had been wrong: there was a real question whether the states or the U.S. owned land under "the marginal sea"; the Supreme Court should be asked to decide the issue.

From Time Magazine Archive

The waste of the rising land was constantly transferred to the sinking marginal sea bottom, and on the whole the trough was filled with sediments as rapidly as it subsided.

From Project Gutenberg