ANSWER
The term "seven seas" refers all the waters of the world, accordingly the four oceans of the world are broken down into the following "seven seas":
North Atlantic Ocean
South Atlantic Ocean
North Pacific Ocean
South Pacific Ocean
Arctic Ocean
Antarctic (Southern) Ocean
Indian Ocean
However, this is the modern answer. The term "seven seas" was in use by various cultures before they were aware of all of the oceans listed above. The following excerpt comes from Cecil Adam's "The Straight Dope" website ( http://www.straightdope.com )
The phrase was popularized by Rudyard Kipling who used it as the title of a volume of poems first published in 1896. Kipling himself said the term might be regarded as referring to the seven oceans (named above) even though it was a very old figurative name for all the waters of the world.
The Seven Seas was part of the vernacular of several nations long before some of the oceans named were known to the inhabitants of Europe and Asia. The Seven Seas are referred to in the literature of the ancient Hindus, Chinese, Persians, Romans and other nations. In each case, the term simply referred to different bodies of water. Sometimes it even referred to mythical seas. To the Persians, the Seven Seas were the streams forming the Oxus River; the Hindus used the term for the bodies of water in the Punjab. There is a group of salt-water lagoons near Venice, Italy, that the Romans called septem maria, the Latin phrase for Seven Seas.
And don't forget, seven is a pretty special number. The world was formed in seven days. There are seven wonders of the world, seven deadly sins, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, seven hills of Rome, seventh heaven and don't forget Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs this year. Some even consider seven a perfect number.
WHO GOT IT RIGHT: Kati Williams.
