walrus
[ wawl-ruh s, wol- ]
/ ˈwɔl rəs, ˈwɒl- /
|
noun, plural wal·rus·es, (especially collectively) wal·rus.
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.
Nearby words
Origin of walrus
1645–55; < Dutch: literally, whale horse; cognate with German Walross, Danish hvalros; compare Old English horshwæl horse-whale
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for walrus
British Dictionary definitions for walrus
walrus
/ (ˈwɔːlrəs, ˈwɒl-) /
noun plural -ruses or -rus
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
C17: probably from Dutch, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hrosshvalr (literally: horse whale) and Old English horschwæl; see horse, whale
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for walrus
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper