BENTHIC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 13 January 2012

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BENTHIC  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) pertaining to oceanic depths
2. (adj.) pertaining to the bottom of a body of water

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: BITCHEN
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: BENTHAL, BENTHON, BENTHOS, BENTHONIC

Epilogue:
The German biologist Ernst Haeckel  (1834-1919) coined the word BENTHOS to refer to life forms that inhabit the deep sea floor.  He patterned it after a form of the Greek word bathys (“deep”), the same root behind words such as:

• BATHYAL: pertaining to deep water
• BATHYSCAPH or BATHYSCAPHE: a navigable deep sea vessel having a watertight cabin attached to its underside
• BATHYSPHERE: a diving sphere for deep see observation
• BATHYPELAGIC: of or living in the ocean depths, especially between approximately 2000 and 12000 feet (600 and 3600 meters)

There’s also BATHOS, where the deep place referred to is a metaphorical one: a descent in style from the lofty to the commonplace; triteness; excessive sentimentality.

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