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Letia Offline OP
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I would like to know the origin of the phrase "sea change". Thanks.

Letia #188640 01/09/10 04:21 PM
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It comes from a song in Shakespeare's The Tempest (link).
Quote:
Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange,
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell.
[Fixed misspelling.]


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #188642 01/09/10 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
It comes from a song in Shakespeare's The Tempast


That's fine for Tempast, but what about Tempresent?

Faldage #188643 01/09/10 07:15 PM
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Zmjezhd's sea-change for tempest. So from the original meaning
' a change caused by the sea' it is more generally used as 'transformation'?
link

BranShea #188645 01/09/10 10:29 PM
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Generally it seems to me it means a major change. Transformation might be a good definition.

Faldage #188646 01/10/10 12:30 AM
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a paradigm shift.


formerly known as etaoin...
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Zed Offline
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I had assumed it was a sailor's term for the complete change in sailing conditions that you sometimes get very quickly on the ocean.

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Welcome, Letia. zmjezhd is right; however, here is a more reliable source than that dumb old Wikipedia.

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I must admit that I have never heard the phrase used as a generic "transformation"; only ever to describe the move from the rat-race of the city to relaxed sea-side living (most commonly applied to middle-aged couples who move once the nest is empty). The general meaning may well have been (mis-)appropriated by the real-estate industry for all I know. However, I suspect many people would think the general meaning of transformation derived from the concept of a drastic change of lifestyle. cf "tree-change"

Zed #188656 01/10/10 10:32 AM
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The Shakespeare line is clear enough, but maybe he uses it as a metaphor from a real sailors' term.

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