[ocean] n, often attrib [ME occean, fr. L oceanus, fr. Gk Okeanos, a river thought of as encircling the earth, ocean] (14c) 1 a: the whole body of salt water that covers nearly three fourths of the surface of the globe b: any of the large bodies of water (as the Atlantic Ocean) into which the great ocean is divided
2: a very large or unlimited space or quantity