walrus
- a large marine mammal, Odobenus nosmarus, of arctic seas, related to the seals, and having flippers, a pair of large tusks, and a tough, wrinkled skin.
Origin of walrus
Examples from the Web for walrus
Contemporary Examples of walrus
Her work has appeared in The Walrus, Toronto Life, Hazlitt, This, and The Guardian.
Historical Examples of walrus
An', well—I hates t' say it, but—well, they called her 'Walrus Liz.'
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
Reindeer, seal, and walrus bones were seen in great quantities.
The English at the North PoleJules Verne
Like the kayaks, it was covered with seal-skin; or perhaps it might have been the hide of the walrus.
Left on LabradorCharles Asbury Stephens
The shoulder blade of a walrus fastened to a ski served as spade.
From Pole to PoleSven Anders Hedin
A walrus spouts much like a whale, but the walrus is not a fish, because he is amphibious.
Moby Dick; or The WhaleHerman Melville
walrus
- a pinniped mammal, Odobenus rosmarus, of northern seas, having a tough thick skin, upper canine teeth enlarged as tusks, and coarse whiskers and feeding mainly on shellfish: family Odobenidae
Word Origin for walrus
Word Origin and History for walrus
1650s, from Dutch walrus, which was probably a folk-etymology alteration (by influence of Dutch walvis "whale" and ros "horse") of a Scandinavian word, such as Old Norse rosmhvalr "walrus," hrosshvalr "a kind of whale," or rostungr "walrus." Old English had horschwæl, and later morse, from Lapp morsa or Finnish mursu, which ultimately might be the source, much garbled, of the first element in Old Norse rosmhvalr.