dolphin

[ dol-fin, dawl- ]
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noun
  1. any of several chiefly marine, cetacean mammals of the family Delphinidae, having a fishlike body, numerous teeth, and the front of the head elongated into a beaklike projection.

  2. Also called dolphinfish, mahimahi, pompano dolphin . either of two large, slender fishes, Coryphaena hippurus or C. equisetis, of warm and temperate seas.

  1. Nautical.

    • a pile, cluster of piles, or buoy to which a vessel may be moored in open water.

    • a cluster of piles used as a fender, as at the entrance to a dock.

    • a pudding fender at the nose of a tugboat or on the side of a vessel.

  2. Dolphin, Astronomy. the constellation Delphinus.

Origin of dolphin

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English dolphyn, from Old French daulphin, from Old Provençal dalfin, from unattested Vulgar Latin dalfīnus, Latin delphīnus, from Greek delphī́n

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How to use dolphin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dolphin

dolphin

/ (ˈdɒlfɪn) /


noun
  1. any of various marine cetacean mammals of the family Delphinidae, esp Delphinus delphis, that are typically smaller than whales and larger than porpoises and have a beaklike snout

  2. river dolphin any freshwater cetacean of the family Platanistidae, inhabiting rivers of North and South America and S Asia. They are smaller than marine dolphins and have a longer narrower snout

  1. Also called: dorado either of two large marine percoid fishes, Coryphaena hippurus or C. equisetis, that resemble the cetacean dolphins and have an iridescent coloration

  2. nautical a post or buoy for mooring a vessel

Origin of dolphin

1
C13: from Old French dauphin, via Latin, from Greek delphin-, delphis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012