polynya

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɒlənˌjɑː/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(pə lin′yə)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
po•lyn•ya  (pə lin′yə),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Oceanography, Foreign Termsan area of unfrozen sea water surrounded by ice.
  • Russian polyn'yá, Old Russian polynĭi equivalent. to pol(ù) empty, open + -ynĭi noun, nominal suffix
  • 1850–55

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
polynya /ˈpɒlənˌjɑː/ n
  1. a stretch of open water surrounded by ice, esp near the mouths of large rivers, in arctic seas
Etymology: 19th Century: from Russian, from poly open, hollowed-out

Forum discussions with the word(s) "polynya" in the title:


Look up "polynya" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "polynya" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.