pacific

Definitions

pac (peace) + -fic (making, from facere) = 'peace-making, peaceful.' As an adjective it is the formal sibling of 'peaceful' (a pacific temperament). As a proper noun it names the Pacific Ocean — Magellan called it 'the peaceful sea' because it seemed so calm when he crossed it.

Why It Means This

Two lives in one word. As an ordinary adjective, pacific means peace-loving — but it is formal and somewhat rare; most people say 'peaceful.' Its real fame is as a name: in 1520 Magellan emerged from the stormy strait at South America's tip into a vast, eerily calm ocean and named it Mar Pacifico, 'the peaceful sea.' The name was wishful — the Pacific spawns typhoons and giant waves — but it stuck, and today most learners meet 'pacific' first as the ocean, only later as the adjective behind it.

Common Collocations

• 1.pacific temperament温和的性情
• 2.pacific intentions和平的意图
• 3.the Pacific Ocean太平洋
• 4.the Pacific coast太平洋沿岸

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He had a pacific temperament and avoided all quarrels.

• 2.

  The two sides reached a pacific settlement without bloodshed.

• 3.

  They sailed across the Pacific in just under three weeks.