Reefscape

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The overall view and physical environment of a coral or rocky reef, including its structure, shape and surroundings
2. The scenery formed by a reef and the living and nonliving features that make up its surface and setting
3. A reef viewed as a landscape, encompassing its contours, habitats and the broader area it occupies in the sea

Etymology: The second half of "reefscape" was once a painter's term. "Landscape" came into English from Dutch "landschap" in the late 1500s, meaning a picture of a stretch of countryside, and the sense of a view or scene was then extended to other subjects. English speakers turned that ending into a productive suffix, so we now have "seascape," "cityscape," and "moonscape." "Reefscape" follows the same pattern, joining "reef" to "-scape" to name a view of a reef. The first half, "reef," is an older borrowing. It came into English from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German "rif," which referred to a ridge, and it is related to the English word "rib." The original image was of a long, narrow ridge, whether of sand, stone, or coral, that breaks the surface of the water. The sailing sense of "reef," meaning to shorten a sail, comes from the same source. Pairing that ridge with a painter's term gives "reefscape" its sense of a seabed scene viewed as a picture.