/ ˈwɔːlrəs; NAmE / noun
an animal like a large seal (= a sea animal with thick fur, that eats fish and lives around coasts), that has two long outer teeth called tusks and lives in Arctic regions
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 18th cent.: probably from Dutch walrus , perhaps by an inversion of elements (influenced by walvis whale fish) of Old Norse hrosshvalr horse whale.