HUMPBACK

humpback, humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae

(noun) large whalebone whale with long flippers noted for arching or humping its back as it dives

humpback, hunchback, crookback

(noun) a person whose back is hunched because of abnormal curvature of the upper spine

kyphosis, humpback, hunchback

(noun) an abnormal backward curve to the vertebral column

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

humpback (plural humpbacks)

A humped back (deformity in humans caused by abnormal curvature of the upper spine).

(by extension) A hump or protuberance on the shoulders or back of an animal.

(figurative) A rounded topographical feature, such as a mountain or hill.

(derogatory, now, offensive) A person with a humpback; a person who suffers from kyphosis.

Synonyms: crookback, hunchback

A humpback whale.

A humpback salmon.

Verb

humpback (third-person singular simple present humpbacks, present participle humpbacking, simple past and past participle humpbacked)

To hunt humpback whales.

Source: Wiktionary

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Hump"back`, n. Etym: [Cf. Hunchback.]

1. A crooked back; a humped back. Tatler.

2. A humpbacked person; a hunchback.

3. (Zoöl.) (a) Any whale of the genus Megaptera, characterized by a hump or bunch on the back. Several species are known. The most common ones in the North Atlantic are Megaptera longimana of Europe, and M. osphyia of America; that of the California coasts is M. versabilis. (b) A small salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), of the northwest coast of America.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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