C J Campbell wrote:

That isn't what I meant. Yes the term tsunami is "universally
used". My
point was that whether an event is called a "tsunami" or a "tidal
wave"
may depend on where the event occured.

No. It depends on when you were born. If you were born before 1960,
you
probably call it a tidal wave.

Interesting. Searches of online dictionaries don't yield evidence to
support my geographical origin-based theory. So I'm inclined to be
persuaded by your explanation. Thnx, CJ.

Jim Rosinski