Word.ws English Dictionary

polynya

Syllables: po·lyn·ya/pə(ʊ)ˈlɪnjə/US/pəˈlɪnjə/

polynya noun: a naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.

polynya: a naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or...
Image: NASA's Earth Observatory, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

polynya (plural polynyas or (rare) polynyi)

  1. A naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.
    • We immediately ascended a hill, and saw that the supposed land was nothing but hummocks of ice, piled up beyond a large Polynia, or space of open water, which extended from east to west, as far as the eye could reach.1844, Ferdinand von Wrangell, chapter V, in Edward Sabine, editor, Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea […], 2nd edition, London: James Madden and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 102–103
    • Hoping to reach the starting-place in the early season of navigation, he intends to follow his course of travel nearly upon a meridional line, which would, it is believed, lead him to the Polynya—a mare liberum, or such, comparatively speaking—within its formidable borderings of the thick-ribbed...1853 June, “The Polar Seas and Sir John Franklin”, in Putnam's Magazine, volume I, number VI, New York, N.Y.: GP Putnam & Co. […]; London: Sampson Low, Son & Co., →OCLC, page 635, column 2
    Synonyms:
    glade

polynya meaning in Hindi

polynya in Hindi

area of open water surrounded by sea ice
पॉलीन्या pŏlīnyā

Synonyms of polynya

Forms of polynya

pluralpolynyas
alternative formpolyna
alternative formpolynia
plural (rare)polynyi

Origin of polynya

Borrowed from Russian полынья́ (polynʹjá, “polynya”) in the 1850s, from Middle Russian полыньѧ (polynʹja) (att. in 1639), from полыи (polyi, “open from above, uncovered; hollow”), whence also Russian полый (polyj, “hollow”), from Old East Slavic полъ (polŭ, “uncovered”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). The rare plural form polynyi is borrowed from Russian полыньи́ (polynʹí).

Questions about polynya

What does polynya mean?
Polynya means a naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.
What is polynya in Hindi?
Polynya in Hindi is पॉलीन्या (pŏlīnyā). See Polynya meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is polynya?
Polynya is a noun.
How do you pronounce polynya?
Polynya is pronounced /pə(ʊ)ˈlɪnjə/ (UK).
What is the plural of polynya?
The plural of polynya is polynyas.

Words near polynya in the dictionary

  1. polynucleotidases
  2. polynucleotide
  3. polynucleotides
  4. polynucleotidic
  5. polynucleotidyl
  6. polynya
  7. polynyas
  8. polynyi
  9. polynym
  10. polynymous
  11. polynymously

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: polynya (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-polynya.wav.

Cite this entry: “polynya.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/polynya. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.