海底

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese word 海底 (hǎidǐ) is composed of two characters: 海 (hǎi), meaning "sea", and 底 (dǐ), meaning "bottom". Together, they literally mean "the bottom of the sea".The character 海 is a pictograph that depicts waves crashing against a shore. The character 底 is a phonetic compound that combines the radical 土 (tǔ), meaning "earth", with the phonetic element 底 (dǐ).The word 海底 is first attested in the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE). It is used in a variety of contexts to refer to the bottom of the sea, including in scientific, literary, and poetic texts.For example, in the scientific text 海底地形学 (hǎidǐ dìxíngxué), 海底 is used to refer to the topography of the seafloor. In the literary text 海底两万里 (hǎidǐ liǎng wàn lǐ), 海底 is used to refer to the setting of the story, which takes place on the bottom of the sea. In the poetic text 海底月 (hǎidǐ yuè), 海底 is used to create a sense of mystery and wonder.The word 海底 is a common word in modern Chinese. It is used in a variety of contexts, including in scientific, literary, and poetic texts.