porpoise

[ pawr-puh s ]

/ ˈpɔr pəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR porpoise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural (especially collectively) por·poise, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) por·pois·es.

any of several small, gregarious cetaceans of the genus Phocoena, usually blackish above and paler beneath, and having a blunt, rounded snout, especially the common porpoise, P. phocoena, of both the North Atlantic and Pacific.

any of several other small cetaceans, as the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis.

verb (used without object), por·poised, por·pois·ing.

(of a speeding motorboat) to leap clear of the water after striking a wave.

(of a torpedo) to appear above the surface of the water.

to move forward with a rising and falling motion in the manner of a porpoise: The car has a tendency to porpoise when overloaded.

Nearby words

porphyroblast, porphyrogenite, porphyroid, porphyropsin, porphyry, porpoise, porrect, porridge, porrigo, porringer, porro prism

Origin of porpoise

1275–1325; Middle English porpoys < Middle French porpois < Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis hog fish, for Latin porcus marīnus sea hog

Related formspor·poise·like, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for porpoise

A thick layer of mud covers their bodies, which are nearly always smeared with seal or porpoise oil.
The Human Race|Louis Figuier
There was a hissing sound as the sea water rushed in, and the Porpoise gave a sudden lurch.
Under the Ocean to the South Pole|Roy Rockwood
He might as well have tried to get early speed out of a porpoise.
Old Man Curry|Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
He was very anxious to be away again, and urged on Porpoise to do his utmost to expedite the refitting of the yacht.
The Cruise of the Frolic|W.H.G. Kingston

Then the mast snapped, water rushed in, and soon the Porpoise was a hopeless wreck.
A Book of Discovery|Margaret Bertha (M. B.) Synge

British Dictionary definitions for porpoise

porpoise

/ (ˈpɔːpəs) /

noun plural -poises or -poise

any of various small cetacean mammals of the genus Phocaena and related genera, having a blunt snout and many teeth: family Delphinidae (or Phocaenidae)

(not in technical use) any of various related cetaceans, esp the dolphin

Word Origin for porpoise

C14: from French pourpois, from Medieval Latin porcopiscus (from Latin porcus pig + piscis fish), replacing Latin porcus marīnus sea pig

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

Word Origin and History for porpoise

porpoise

early 14c., porpas, from Old French porpais (12c.) "porpoise," literally "pork fish," from porc "pork" (see pork (n.)) + peis "fish," from Latin piscis "fish" (see fish (n.)).

The Old French word probably is a loan-translation of a Germanic word meaning literally "sea-hog, mere-swine;" cf. Old Norse mar-svin, Old High German meri-swin, Middle Dutch mereswijn "porpoise" (the last of which also was borrowed directly into French and became Modern French marsouin).

Classical Latin had a similar name, porculus marinus (in Pliny), and the notion behind the name likely is a fancied resemblance of the snout to that of a pig.

porpoise

noun, plural (especially collectively) por·poise, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) por·pois·es.

verb (used without object), por·poised, por·pois·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of porpoise

Examples from the Web for porpoise

British Dictionary definitions for porpoise

porpoise

noun plural -poises or -poise

Word Origin for porpoise

Word Origin and History for porpoise

porpoise