porpoise
pronunciation
How to pronounce porpoise in British English:
UK [ˈpɔːpəs]
How to pronounce porpoise in American English:
US [ˈpɔːrpəs]
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- Noun:
- any of several small gregarious cetacean mammals having a blunt snout and many teeth
Word Origin
- porpoise
- porpoise: [14] The porpoise is etymologically the ‘pig-fish’. The word comes via Old French porpois from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis, a compound formed from porcus ‘pig’ (source of English pork) and piscis ‘fish’ (a relative of English fish) and based on the model of Latin porcus marīnus ‘sea-pig’. The name may have been suggested by the porpoise’s snout.=> fish, pork
- porpoise (n.)
- 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," such as 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.
Example
- 1. However , historical photos and archival brochures indicate there was a " porpoise pool " attraction at floridaland .
- 2. Several measures may avert a similar fate for the yangtze porpoise .
- 3. " Whether it be bird , fish or beast , the porpoise is intrigued with anything that is alive . "
- 4. Currently , the yangtze finless porpoise is a second class national-level protected animal .
- 5. Analysis on genetic diversity and serum vitamin concentration of different finless porpoise ( neophocaena phocaenoides ) populations .