A sea change is a profound transformation, although some people erroneously use it to mean a slight shift, as when winds change direction on the surface of the ocean. In reality, the term refers to the kind of change effected on something submerged in salt water, as in Ariel’s song from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Sea Change Meaning and Origin”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Karen Anderson calling from Traverse City, Michigan.
Hi, Karen. Welcome to the program.
Hello, Karen.
What’s up?
Hi, Martha and Grant.
Hey there.
So, I have a question.
Okay, let’s hear it.
In the last couple of weeks, in two different opinion pieces in my local paper, I noticed the word, the phrase, a sea change. I think it was in a different context each time, maybe once related to the electorate, maybe once related to the media landscape. But it called attention to itself because I saw it twice rather soon, and I started wondering where it came from. And in what sense did they use it? What did it mean?
Something major, like far-reaching, significant.
Yeah, it has to do with a change that’s just complete, total, right? Just sort of going in there and rearranging all the molecules, basically, right?
Yeah.
A sea change being something really, really profound. And as far as we know, the first use of sea change is in Shakespeare.
Oh, neat. Where?
Yeah, in The Tempest.
Oh, well, that makes sense.
Yeah, Ariel sings to Ferdinand, whose father has drowned. And it goes, 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 to suffer a sea change into something rich and strange.
Oh, that’s wonderful to know because Full Fathom 5 is so familiar, but I didn’t know the rest of it all the way to sea change.
Right, but to suffer a sea change into something rich and strange. So it’s this complete total change.
Well, that’s wonderful to know. Shakespeare’s a good source. Thank you for that.
So now you’ll have a whole new appreciation for the phrase, right?
Oh, absolutely. Somebody could use it, too. I was thinking as a political slogan and just change it to S-E-E. But that’ll be for next time.
Right. We had hope, now change, right?
Thanks, Karen.
All right. Thank you, guys.
Yeah.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
An interesting thing about sea change, as old as that is, hundreds of years old, we don’t really start to see it show up in political commentary until the late 1970s or early 1980s. And if you look at a chart of its usage, it keeps zooming up and up and up. This is a phrase that has not grown completely tired yet, although it has certainly come to a lot of people’s attention.
Right.
And I would say that it’s also been watered down, so to speak. You know, it’s not necessarily something so profound.
Yeah.
Almost like wind, you know, almost like wind on the sea. It’s kind of what happened to supermodel, where all models became supermodels.
Right.
And now all changes have become sea changes.
Exactly.
Is it even the most minor? Oh, they put two USB ports on the computer. It’s a sea change.
It’s a sea change.
You’re like, okay.
Yeah, rather than rethinking the whole thing.
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