Etymology

high sea

Today it means: The sea when it is very rough due to strong winds and storms, such that the sea encroaches much further inland than is normal, often causing damage. Full definition →

Middle English hey see ← Old English hēahsǣ
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromhēahsǣ“the high sea, the deep”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromhey see
  3. English todayhigh sea

From Middle English hey see, hey se, from Old English hēahsǣ (“the high sea, the deep”), equivalent to high + sea.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.