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1. hosh (hosh@hub.vikshepa.com)'s status on Sunday, 04-Nov-2018 04:05:35 EST hosh
   Sanskrit has about 157 words for ocean.
   
   http://sanskritdictionary.com/?q=ocean&lang=en&action=Search
   1. hosh (hosh@hub.vikshepa.com)'s status on Sunday, 04-Nov-2018 06:33:17 EST hosh

      in reply to
      In Sanskrit, the large number of words is mechanically due to the use of compounds and metaphor. It's a language based on a fairly small number of roots that are combined in poetic ways. So a word might be "Ganges-receiver" or "River-lord". But still it's interesting that a culture that lived mostly far from the sea would develop so many words for the oceans. Probably because the ocean itself is frequently applied as a philosophical metaphor.
   2. hosh (hosh@hub.vikshepa.com)'s status on Sunday, 04-Nov-2018 07:58:15 EST hosh

      in reply to
      I think the two go together. What was it you said a couple of weeks ago about your days as a postman? (See, I've been paying attention) Words and letters can be a receptacle for so much more than their literal value. Languages that are closer to their roots often convey these forgotten associations For example in Hebrew the word for "peace" also carries within it the implications of "wholeness" and "health". The English word "daughter" comes from an Indo-European root that carries the image of a mother nursing her child. In Chinese, even the characters convey an artistic and poetical meaning.