Oceanity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The characteristic quality associated with the ocean's effects on climate and environments is known as a state relevant to the vast saltwater body covering Earth
2. A state describing the distinctive features and influences of the global ocean system
3. The nature or attributes related to the ocean's presence and impact on Earth's conditions

Etymology: "Oceanity" is a synonym of "oceanicity", so its history runs through that word. "Oceanicity" is formed from "oceanic", the adjective from "ocean", with the suffix "-icity" added. The suffix comes from Latin "-icitas", itself built from the adjective ending "-icus" plus the abstract ending "-itas", and it is used to turn adjectives into nouns of quality or state. Pairs like "electricity" from "electric" follow the same pattern. The base word "ocean" came into English from Old French "occean", which traces back through Latin "oceanus" to the Greek "Ōkeanos". In Greek myth, Okeanos was a Titan, a river encircling the flat earth, and the source of all waters. The Greeks thought of the ocean as a river flowing around the world, so the word carried that idea of an all-encompassing body of water from the start. Taken together, "oceanity" is a plain, transparent formation: an English adjective ("oceanic") plus a Latinate abstract suffix, describing the state of being oceanic.