gulf
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: business
geography
mining
natural-sciences
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”).
Inflected forms:
form: gulfs
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: gulph
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: gulfs
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: gulfing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: gulfed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: gulfed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: gulph
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: A hollow place in the earth; an abyss; a deep chasm or basin.
pos: noun
examples: He then surveyed / Hell and the gulf between.
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.
⁠For though my nature rarely yields
⁠To that vague fear implied in death;
⁠Nor shudders at the gulfs beneath,
The howlings from forgotten fields; […]
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.
gloss: That which swallows; the gullet.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: Witch's mummy, maw and gulf / Of the ravined salt sea shark,
gloss: That which swallows irretrievably; a whirlpool; a sucking eddy.
pos: noun
examples: [T]here is no such mine, / None; but a gulf of ruin, swallowing gold, not making.
gloss: A portion of an ocean or sea extending into the land; a partially landlocked sea
pos: noun
examples: the Gulf of Mexico
the Persian Gulf
gloss: A large deposit of ore in a lode.
pos: noun
gloss: A wide interval or gap; a separating space.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed.
`Behold now, let the Dead and Living meet! Across the gulf of Time they still are one.'
gloss: A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: 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.
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.
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.
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.
The result is a widening gulf between people’s reality and what they are relentlessly told they actually believe in and care about.
gloss: The bottom part of a list of those awarded a degree, for those who have only just passed.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: To engulf.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: […] if with thee the roaring wells
⁠Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine;
⁠And hands so often clasp’d in mine,
Should toss with tangle and with shells.
gloss: To award a degree to somebody who has only just passed sufficiently.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
Everyone who knows the Senate House may anticipate the result. When the Tripos of 1822 made its appearance his name did not grace the list. In short, to use the expressive vocabulary of the university, Macaulay was gulfed:—a mishap which disabled him from contending for the Chancellor's medals, then the crowning trophies of a classical career.
Related words: colpus
Derived words: engulf
Gulf Coast
Gulf County
Gulf Creek
gulflike
Gulfport
Gulf Stream
Gulf War
gulfward
gulfwards
gulfweed
gulfy
Newgulf
Roper Gulf
The Gulf
Translations: