ZUYDERSEE, a great bay of the German ocean, which lies in the middle of the United provinces, having the islands of Texel, Eile, and Schelling, at the entrance of it, on the north; the provinces of Friesland, Overijssel, and Gelderland, on the east; Utrecht, and part of Holland, on the south; and another part of Holland on the west. The chief town is Amsterdam.