origin of the phrase " sea (sp?) change" I hear it used in political discussions. | Q&A about words

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#188638 - 01/09/10 10:51 AM origin of the phrase " sea (sp?) change" I hear it used in political discussions.
Letia stranger Registered: 01/09/10 Posts: 1	I would like to know the origin of the phrase "sea change". Thanks.
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#188640 - 01/09/10 11:21 AM Re: sea change [Re: Letia]
zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/13/05 Posts: 3290 Loc: R'lyeh	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.
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#188642 - 01/09/10 01:07 PM Re: sea change [Re: zmjezhd]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13803	Originally Posted By: zmjezhd It comes from a song in Shakespeare's The Tempast That's fine for Tempast, but what about Tempresent?
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#188643 - 01/09/10 02:15 PM Re: sea change [Re: Faldage]
BranShea Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/06 Posts: 5295 Loc: Netherlands, the Hague	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
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#188645 - 01/09/10 05:29 PM Re: sea change [Re: BranShea]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13803	Generally it seems to me it means a major change. Transformation might be a good definition.
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#188646 - 01/09/10 07:30 PM Re: sea change [Re: Faldage]
Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/24/02 Posts: 7210 Loc: Vermont	a paradigm shift. _________________________ formerly known as etaoin...
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#188650 - 01/09/10 09:31 PM Re: sea change [Re: Buffalo Shrdlu]
Zed Pooh-Bah Registered: 08/27/02 Posts: 2154 Loc: British Columbia, Canada	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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#188653 - 01/09/10 10:28 PM Re: origin of the phrase " sea (sp?) change" I hear it used in political discussions. [Re: Letia]
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11613 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky	Welcome, Letia. zmjezhd is right; however, here is a more reliable source than that dumb old Wikipedia.
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#188654 - 01/09/10 11:01 PM Re: origin of the phrase " sea (sp?) change" I hear it used in political discussions. [Re: Jackie]
doc_comfort addict Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 618 Loc: Australia	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"
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#188656 - 01/10/10 05:32 AM Re: sea change [Re: Zed]
BranShea Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/06 Posts: 5295 Loc: Netherlands, the Hague	The Shakespeare line is clear enough, but maybe he uses it as a metaphor from a real sailors' term.
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