DOLPHIN


Meaning of DOLPHIN in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈdäl-fən, ˈdȯl- ]

noun

Etymology: Middle English delphyn, dolphyn, from Anglo-French delphin, alteration of Old French dalfin, from Medieval Latin dalfinus, alteration of Latin delphinus, from Greek delphin-, delphis; akin to Greek delphys womb, Sanskrit garbha

Date: 14th century

1.

a.

(1) : any of various small marine toothed whales (family Delphinidae) with the snout more or less elongated into a beak and the neck vertebrae partially fused

(2) : any of several related chiefly freshwater toothed whales (as of the family Platanistidae)

b. : porpoise 1

2. : either of two active pelagic bony food fishes ( Coryphaena equiselis and C. hippuras of the family Coryphaenidae) of tropical and temperate seas — called also dolphinfish

3. capitalized : Delphinus

4. : a spar or buoy for mooring boats ; also : a cluster of closely driven piles used as a fender for a dock or as a mooring or guide for boats

[

dolphin 1a

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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.