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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

porpoise en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈpɔːɹpəs/ (US)
  • /pɔːˈpɔɪs/ (UK)
  • /ˈpɔːpəs/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English porpeys, purpeys, borrowed from Anglo-Norman porpeis, purpeis, Old French pourpois, porpois, pourpais, porpeis (“porpoise”), from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise”, literally “hog-fish”), taken from Latin porcus (“hog, pig”) + piscis (“fish”). Compare (in transposed order) obsolete Italian pesce porco and Portuguese peixe porco; also Latin porcus marīnus (“sea hog”); akin in formation to Frankish *mariswīn (“porpoise, dolphin”) (whence German Meerschwein, English mereswine). Displaced native Middle English brunswyn. More at mereswine.

Meanings

  1. A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae, related to dolphins and whales.
    • Near-synonyms: sea hog, sea pig, seaswine, mereswine
    • They captured 25 porpoises and set them free back into the Yangtze after raising them for a month in Puqi County, Hubei. 1991, Zhou Kaiya, Zhang Xingduan, translated by Luo Changyan, Baiji: The Yangtze River Dolphin and Other Endangered Animals of China, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 76:
  2. (Canada, US, broadly) Any small dolphin.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
porpoises Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

whale · dolphin

Deriveds

Cape Porpoise · finless porpoise · porpicide · sperm-whale porpoise · harbour porpoise · Dall's porpoise · spectacled porpoise · porpoiselike

Descendants

profosu · profosoe · พอร์พอยส์

Hypernyms

mammal · vertebrate · whale · organism · cetacean · animal · creature

Synonyms

sea hog · sea pig · phocoenid · seaswine · mereswine

Translations (101)

gd puthag (porpoise family) · nl bruinvis (porpoise family) · cmn 鼠海豚 (porpoise family) · vi cá heo (porpoise family) · fa گرازماهی (porpoise family) · is hnísa (porpoise family) · km សមុទ្រសុករ (porpoise family) · pl morświn (porpoise family) · tr musur (porpoise family) · kw morhogh (porpoise family) · nds-de Trömmelswien (porpoise family) · nb nise (porpoise family) · br morhoc'h (porpoise family) · th พอร์พอยส์ (porpoise family) · sv tumlare (porpoise family) · sh морско прасе (porpoise family) · sh плискавица (porpoise family) · enm porpeys (porpoise family) · pl delfin (imprecisely, any small dolphin) · hu tengeridisznó (porpoise family) · fo nísa (porpoise family) · eo foceno (porpoise family) · hy ծովախոզ (porpoise family) · nn nise (porpoise family) · te నీరుపంది (porpoise family) · sh pliskavica (porpoise family) · uk морська́ свиня́ (porpoise family) · cs sviňucha (porpoise family) · ga muc mhara (porpoise family) · de Tümmler (porpoise family) · ang mereswīn (porpoise family) · hu disznódelfin (porpoise family) · ko 쇠돌고래 (porpoise family) · nuk hicwin (porpoise family) · pt marsuíno (porpoise family) · sw poposi (porpoise family) · fr marsouin (porpoise family) · lo ເດິນຟິນໜູ (porpoise family) · tr mutur (porpoise family) · sl pliskavka (porpoise family) · sv tumlare (imprecisely, any small dolphin) · ota یونس بالغی (porpoise family) · ast boticu (porpoise family) · es marsopa (porpoise family) · clm k'ʷánət' (porpoise family) · pt boto (imprecisely, any small dolphin) · ro marsuin (porpoise family) · gl porco de mar (porpoise family) · fi pyöriäinen (porpoise family) · grc φώκαινα (porpoise family) · mk мо́рска сви́ња (porpoise family) · fa خوکماهی (porpoise family) · fi delfiini (imprecisely, any small dolphin) · el γουρουνόψαρο (porpoise family) · sk sviňucha (porpoise family) · gd cana (porpoise family) · wyi tingin (porpoise family) · squ kwʼúnutʼ (porpoise family) · nv tééh hóyáanii (porpoise family) · hi सूंस (porpoise family) · sq marsuinët (porpoise family) · hu barna delfin (porpoise family) · kl niisa (porpoise family) · wyi tole.ler.bope (porpoise family) · de Schweinswal (porpoise family) · ast moscote (porpoise family) · tl marsopa (porpoise family) · ka ზღვის ღორი (porpoise family) · ja ネズミイルカ (porpoise family) · nds-de Dümmler (porpoise family) · cy llamhidydd (porpoise family) · gl touliña (porpoise family) · sco dunter (porpoise family) · wyi bar-bar-ka (porpoise family) · ota طوڭوز بالغی (porpoise family) · chr ᏗᏁᏍᏆᏕᎩᏳᏍᏗ (porpoise family) · enm mereswyn (porpoise family) · sjd нышшь (porpoise family) · ru морска́я свинья́ (porpoise family) · cy morhwch (porpoise family) · is marsvín (porpoise family) · sh morsko prase (porpoise family) · gl fouliña (porpoise family) · pdt Mäaschwien (porpoise family) · ca marsopa (porpoise family) · lt jūrų kiaulė (porpoise family) · ar خِنْزِير الْبَحْر (porpoise family) · bg тъпонос делфин (porpoise family) · it focena (porpoise family) · mi tūpoupou (porpoise family) · rm balena-portg (porpoise family) · mhr вӱд сӧсна (porpoise family) · wo piipa bi (porpoise family) · ast botu (porpoise family) · nrf pourpais (porpoise family) · non hnísa (porpoise family) · be марска́я свіння́ (porpoise family) · gl toniña (porpoise family) · gd peileag (porpoise family) · ka დელფინი (porpoise family) · ko 돌고래 (porpoise family)

wikidata: Q10867

porpoise en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈpɔːɹpəs/ (US)
  • /pɔːˈpɔɪs/ (UK)
  • /ˈpɔːpəs/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English porpeys, purpeys, borrowed from Anglo-Norman porpeis, purpeis, Old French pourpois, porpois, pourpais, porpeis (“porpoise”), from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise”, literally “hog-fish”), taken from Latin porcus (“hog, pig”) + piscis (“fish”). Compare (in transposed order) obsolete Italian pesce porco and Portuguese peixe porco; also Latin porcus marīnus (“sea hog”); akin in formation to Frankish *mariswīn (“porpoise, dolphin”) (whence German Meerschwein, English mereswine). Displaced native Middle English brunswyn. More at mereswine.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) Said of an air-breathing aquatic animal such as a porpoise or penguin: To repeatedly jump out of the water to take a breath and dive back in a continuous motion.
    • Urging them to join me, I raced in circles through the surging water, chased my tail for the children, blew spouts of foam through the sunfilled spray, porpoised to and fro across the river in shallow leaps that stitched the air and water into a table-lace of foam. 1979, J.G. Ballard, The Unlimited Dream Company, chapter 15:
  2. (intransitive) Said of an aircraft: to make a series of plunges when taking off or landing; or of a watercraft: to successively plunge up and down in the water.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
porpoising Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
porpoised Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
porpoised Tense=Past lexicographic
porpoises Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Descendants

porpoising

Relateds

dolphin · seal · killer whale · whale · sea lion · pod

Synonyms

balloon