pinniped

[ pin-uh-ped ]

/ ˈpɪn əˌpɛd /

adjective

belonging to the Pinnipedia, a suborder of carnivores with limbs adapted to an aquatic life, including the seals and walruses.

noun

a pinniped animal.

Nearby words

pinnatipartite, pinnatiped, pinnatisect, pinner, pinnigrade, pinniped, pinnula, pinnular, pinnulate, pinnule, pinny

Origin of pinniped

From the New Latin word Pinnipedia, dating back to 1835–45. See pinna, -i-, -ped, -ia

Related forms

pin·ni·pe·di·an

[pin-uh-pee-dee-uh n] /ˌpɪn əˈpi di ən/, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for pinniped

pinniped

pinnipedian (ˌpɪnɪˈpiːdɪən)

/ (ˈpɪnɪˌpɛd) /

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Pinnipedia, an order of aquatic placental mammals having a streamlined body and limbs specialized as flippers: includes seals, sea lions, and the walrus

noun

any pinniped animal

Compare fissiped

Word Origin for pinniped

C19: from New Latin pinnipēs, from Latin pinna feather, fin + pēs foot

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

Science definitions for pinniped

pinniped

[ pĭn′ə-pĕd′ ]

Any of various carnivorous, aquatic mammals of the group Pinnipedia, which some believe is a suborder of the Carnivora but others consider a separate mammalian order. Pinnipeds have long, smooth bodies and finlike flippers for swimming. Seals and walruses are pinnipeds.