Etymology

The word ocean comes from the figure in classical antiquity, Oceanus (/oʊ

ˈsiːənəs/; Greek: Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós,[13] pronounced [ɔːkeanós]), the elder of the Titans in
classical Greek mythology, believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the divine
personification of the sea, an enormous river encircling the world.
The concept of Ōkeanós has an Indo-European connection. Greek Ōkeanós has been compared to
the Vedic epithet ā-śáyāna-, predicated of the dragon Vṛtra-, who captured the cows/rivers. Related
to this notion, the Okeanos is represented with a dragon-tail on some early Greek vases. [14]

Earth's global ocean

Various ways to divide the World Ocean

Oceanic divisions
Further information: Borders of the oceans

1. Epipelagic zone: surface – 200 meters deep 2. Mesopelagic zone: 200 m – 1000 m 3. Bathypelagic zone:
1000 m – 4000 m 4. Abyssopelagic zone: 4000 m – 6000 m 5. Hadal zone (the trenches): 6000 m to the
bottom of the ocean

Though generally described as several separate oceans, the global, interconnected body of salt
water is sometimes referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean.[15][16] The concept of a continuous
body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts is of fundamental importance
to oceanography.[17]
The major oceanic divisions – listed below in descending order of area and volume – are defined in
part by the continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria.[9][12][18]