sea [OE] An Old English word, related to Dutch zee and German See. A person who is at sea or all at sea is confused or unable to decide what to do—they are being likened to a ship out of the sight of land which has lost its bearings. The term sea change for a profound or notable transformation comes from the song ‘Full fathom five’ in Shakespeare’s The Tempest: ‘Nothing of him that doth fade, / But doth suffer a sea change / Into something rich and strange.’