seahorse

or sea horse

[ see-hawrs ]

noun
  1. any fish of the genus Hippocampus, of the pipefish family, having a prehensile tail, an elongated snout, and a head bent at right angles to the body.

  2. a fabled marine animal with the foreparts of a horse and the hind parts of a fish.

  1. a walrus.

Origin of seahorse

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English sehors, possibly meaning “walrus”; compare German Seeross; see origin at sea, horse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use seahorse in a sentence

  • The whitemaned seahorses, champing, brightwindbridled, the steeds of Mananaan.

    Ulysses | James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for sea horse

sea horse

noun
  1. any marine teleost fish of the temperate and tropical genus Hippocampus, having a bony-plated body, a prehensile tail, and a horselike head and swimming in an upright position: family Syngnathidae (pipefishes)

  2. an archaic name for the walrus

  1. a fabled sea creature with the tail of a fish and the front parts of a horse

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