English Explanatory Dictionary

dolphin

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A carnivorous cetacean with a beak-like snout, famed for their intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans.
  2. Tursiops truncatus, (Atlantic bottlenose dolphin) the most well-known species.
  3. A fish, the mahi-mahi or dorado, Coryphaena hippurus, with a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, also known for iridescent coloration.
  4. A depiction of a fish, with a broad indented fin, usually embowed.
  5. The dauphin, eldest son of the kings of France.
  6. A mass of iron or lead hung from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped through the deck and the hull of an enemy's vessel to sink it.
  7. A kind of wreath or strap of plaited cordage.
  8. A spar or buoy held by an anchor and furnished with a ring to which ships may fasten their cables.
  9. A mooring post on a wharf or beach.
  10. A permanent fender designed to protect a heavy boat, bridge, or coastal structure from the impact of large floating objects such as ice, floating logs, or vessels.
  11. One of the handles above the trunnions by which a gun was lifted.
  12. A person who buys shares on the primary market only to resell them immediately at a high profit.
noun
  1. A man-made semi submerged maritime structure, usually installed to provide a fixed structure for temporary mooring, to prevent ships from drifting to shallow water or to serve as base for navigational aids.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A township in Knox County, Nebraska, United States.
  3. An unincorporated community in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States.
  4. An unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington, United States.
  5. A hamlet in Brynford community, Flintshire, Wales (OS grid ref SJ1973).
  6. Synonym of Delphinus (constellation).
noun
  1. A member of an athletic team called the Dolphins, such as the Miami Dolphins and teams of various institutions of learning.

Pronunciation

/ˈdɒlf.ɪn/ [ˈdɒl̥fɪn] /ˈdɑlf.ɪn/ [ˈdɑl̥fɪn] en-us-dolphin.ogg

Word forms

dolphin dolphins

Etymology

From Middle English delphyn, from Latin delphīnus, from Ancient Greek δελφίς (delphís), from δελφύς (delphús, “womb”); the modern form in -ol- is probably influenced by the pronunciation of Middle French dauphin. Compare Swedish delfin. Doublet of dauphin. Displaced native Old English mereswīn (literally “sea pig”), whence English mereswine.

Synonyms

mereswine sea goose sea pig Delphinus

Related words

cetacean killer whale pod porpoise sea lion seal whale

Derived words

Amazon dolphin Amazon river dolphin Arabian common dolphin Araguaian river dolphin Atlantic humpback dolphin Atlantic spotted dolphin Atlantic white-sided dolphin Australian snubfin dolphin black dolphin blind river dolphin bottlenose dolphin Chilean dolphin Chinese river dolphin Chinese white dolphin Clymene dolphin Commerson's dolphin common dolphin delphine dolphinarium dolphin dive dolphinese dolphinet dolphinfish dolphin fly dolphin-friendly dolphin hugger dolphining dolphin kick dolphinkind dolphinless dolphinlike dolphin shorts dolphinspeak dolphin striker dusky dolphin flog the dolphin Fraser's dolphin Ganges River dolphin green dolphin Guiana dolphin Heaviside's dolphin Hector's dolphin hourglass dolphin humpback dolphin Indian humpback dolphin Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphin Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin Indus River dolphin Irrawaddy dolphin La Plata dolphin long-beaked common dolphin Māui dolphin oceanic dolphin Pacific humpback dolphin Pacific white-sided dolphin panda dolphin pantropical spotted dolphin Peale's dolphin piebald dolphin pink dolphin

Translations

Abkhaz: адельфин Abkhaz: амшынҳәа Afrikaans: dolfyn Ainu: オコㇺ Ainu: タンヌ Ainu: トゥワユㇰ Albanian: delfin Northern Amami Ōshima: 海豚 Southern Amami Ōshima: 海豚 Arabic: دُلْفِين Arabic: دَرْفِيل Arabic: دُخَس Aragonese: dalfín Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܕܹܠܦܝܼܢܵܐ Armenian: դելֆին Old Armenian: դելփին Assamese: শিহু Assamese: উলুপী Assamese: ডেলফিন Asturian: toliña Asturian: golfín Asturian: llofín Azerbaijani: delfin Basque: izurde Belarusian: дэльфі́н Bengali: ডলফিন Central Bikol: lumod Breton: delfin Breton: beg-hir Bulgarian: делфи́н Burmese: လင်းပိုင် Catalan: dofí Cebuano: lumod Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵣⵢⴰⵎ Chamicuro: walali Cherokee: ᏗᏁᏍᏆᏕᎩ Chinese Cantonese: 海豚 Hakka Chinese: 海豚 Chinese: 海豬 /海猪 Chinese: 海豬仔 /海猪仔 Chinese: 海豚 Chinese: 海鼠 Chinese: 鯃魚 /鯃鱼 Chinese: 海徛 Chinese: 海鰡 /海𱈊 Chinese: 烏鯃 /乌鯃 Chinese: 白鯃 Chinese: 白鰗 /白𬶞 Chinese Mandarin: 海豚 Chinese Mandarin: 海豬 /海猪 Chinese Mandarin: 海豨 Wu Chinese: 海豚 East Circassian: хыкхъуэ West Circassian: хыкъо West Circassian: псыкъу Cornish: pyffer Cornish: morhogh Crimean Tatar: yunus balığı Czech: plískavice Czech: delfín Danish: delfin Dutch: dolfijn Egyptian: s-i-in:n-Aa2:N33C*Z1-n-M14-wr:r-mw Esperanto: delfeno
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