Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various carnivorous aquatic mammals of the suborder (or superfamily) Pinnipedia, having flippers as organs of locomotion and including the seals and the walrus.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Fin-footed, in any sense; having feet like fins or flippers. Specifically
  • noun A member of the Pinnipedes or Pinnipedia: opposed to fissiped.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One of the Pinnipedia; a seal.
  • noun One of the Pinnipedes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of various large marine mammals belonging to the superfamily (formerly considered a suborder) Pinnipedia comprising walruses, eared seals and earless seals.
  • adjective Pertaining to or similar to such a mammal.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun aquatic carnivorous mammal having a streamlined body specialized for swimming with limbs modified as flippers

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin Pinnipedia, order name : Latin pinna, feather; see pinna + Latin pēs, ped-, foot; see –ped.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin pinna ("fin") + pes ("foot")

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Examples

  • He also said sometimes the cast will be distracted by whales or seals when filming (he totally used the word pinniped!).

    Gawker: Defamer 2009

  • How many extant pinniped species remain to be described?

    Pinniped Discovery Potential 2009

  • On Monday, more than 400 people came to see Silent Knight during the center's visiting hours, fascinated by the plight of the wounded pinniped, said Jeff Boehm, the center's executive director.

    San Francisco Sees Rise In Sea Lion Shootings AP 2011

  • Then again, I'm positively balmy myself, so I was prepared to perambulate with a pack of pinniped pals.

    Jerry Zezima: "Seals of Approval" Jerry Zezima 2011

  • On Monday, more than 400 people came to see Silent Knight during the center's visiting hours, fascinated by the plight of the wounded pinniped, said Jeff Boehm, the center's executive director.

    San Francisco Sees Rise In Sea Lion Shootings AP 2011

  • Either way, this pinniped was understandably surprised to find us on his turf.

    Victoria, By Sea Matt Villano 2011

  • On Monday, more than 400 people came to see Silent Knight during the center's visiting hours, fascinated by the plight of the wounded pinniped, said Jeff Boehm, the center's executive director.

    San Francisco Sees Rise In Sea Lion Shootings AP 2011

  • How many extant pinniped species remain to be described?

    Archive 2009-03-01 2009

  • On Monday, more than 400 people came to see Silent Knight during the center's visiting hours, fascinated by the plight of the wounded pinniped, said Jeff Boehm, the center's executive director.

    San Francisco Sees Rise In Sea Lion Shootings AP 2011

  • Swimming frantically with a distinctly non-pinniped stroke, we quickly realized who the oil-sodden grotesquerie paddling to shore was.

    Ned Goldreyer: Slick Trick 2010

Comments

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  • see puijila, which is the first time I'd ever heard this word.

    April 24, 2009

  • Sometimes I wish English didn't fancy things up with Latinate words. How much better it would be if we called these animals finfoots.

    April 24, 2009

  • Yes, but "The Scarlet Finfoot" doesn't quite have the same ring to it as "The Scarlet Pinniped".

    April 24, 2009

  • How about this guy?

    April 25, 2009

  • *reciting:*

    "We seek him here, we seek him there …"

    April 25, 2009

  • His clothes are loud, but never square...

    April 27, 2009