PORPOISE

porpoise

(noun) any of several small gregarious cetacean mammals having a blunt snout and many teeth

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

porpoise (plural porpoises)

A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae, related to dolphins and whales.

(North America, imprecisely) Any small dolphin.

Synonyms

• garfish, mereswine, sea hog, sea pig, seaswine

Verb

porpoise (third-person singular simple present porpoises, present participle porpoising, simple past and past participle porpoised)

(intransitive) Said of an air-breathing aquatic animal such as a porpoise or penguin: To repeatedly jump out of the water to take a breath and dive back in a continuous motion.

(intransitive) Said of an aircraft: to make a series of plunges when taking off or landing; or of a watercraft: to successively plunge up and down in the water.

Source: Wiktionary


Por"poise, n. Etym: [OE. porpeys, OF. porpeis, literally, hog fish, from L. porcus swine + piscis fish. See Pork, and Fish.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any small cetacean of the genus Phocæna, especially P. communis, or P. phocæna, of Europe, and the closely allied American species (P. Americana). The color is dusky or blackish above, paler beneath. They are closely allied to the dolphins, but have a shorter snout. Called also harbor porpoise, herring hag, puffing pig, and snuffer.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A true dolphin (Delphinus); -- often so called by sailors. Skunk porpoise, or Bay porpoise (Zoöl.), a North American porpoise (Lagenorhynchus acutus), larger than the common species, and with broad stripes of white and yellow on the sides. See Illustration in Appendix.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

1 April 2025

ANYMORE

(adverb) at the present or from now on; usually used with a negative; “Alice doesn’t live here anymore”; “the children promised not to quarrel any more”


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