Porpoise meaning
Any of various marine toothed whales of the genus Phocoena and related genera, characteristically having a blunt snout and a triangular dorsal fin. Porpoises are placed either in their own family, Phocoenidae, or with the dolphins in the family Delphinidae.
noun
Any of several related aquatic mammals, such as the dolphins.
noun
Any of a family (Phocoenidae) of small, usually gregarious toothed whales found in most seas, with a torpedo-shaped body and a blunt snout.
noun
A dolphin or any of several small whales.
noun
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(North America, imprecisely) Any small dolphin.
noun
(intransitive) Said of an aircraft: to make a series of plunges when taking off or landing.
verb
Origin of porpoise
- Middle English porpeis from Old French (probably translation of a Germanic compound meaning sea-pig) porc pig (from Latin porcus porko- in Indo-European roots) peis fish (from Latin piscis)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English porpeys, purpeys, from Anglo-Norman porpeis, purpeis, Old French pourpois, pourpais, porpeis (“porpoise"), from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise", literally “pig-fish"), from Latin porcus (“pig") + piscis (“fish"). Compare (in transposed order) obsolete Italian pesce porco and Portuguese peixe porco; also Latin porcus marinus (“sea hog"), akin in formation to German Meerschwein, English mereswine. More at mereswine.
From Wiktionary