pelagic \puh-LAJ-ik\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to the open seas or oceans.
2. Living or growing at or near the surface of the ocean, far from land, as certain organisms.
I was reminded of certain kinds of pelagic birds that move at ease in the air or on the ocean, but have a hard time walking.
-- Ross MacDonald, "The Blue Hammer"
However, the real slaughter, the one that all the maritime nations of the world opposed and strove to abolish, was pelagic sealing, the kind that Schransky particularly enjoyed and from which he profited enormously.
-- James Michener, "Alaska"
Pelagic is derived from the Greek word pélag which meant "the sea."
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