Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A dolphin or porpoise.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
porpoise - noun A
dolphin
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Middle English mereswin ("porpoise, dolphin"), from Old English mereswīn ("porpoise, dolphin"), from Proto-Germanic *mariswīnan (“dolphin, porpoise”), from Proto-Germanic *mari (“sea”) + Proto-Germanic *swīnan (“swine, pig”), equivalent to mer- + swine. Akin to Old High German merisuīn "dolphin, porpoise" (German Meerschwein "dolphin"), Old Norse marsvīn ("dolphin, sea-pig"), Middle Low German merswīn "dolphin". More at mere, swine.
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A dolphin; a porpoise (chiefly Sc. in later use).
August 6, 2008