Humpback

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Humpback \Hump"back`\, n. [Cf. {Hunchback}.]
     1. A crooked back; a humped back. --Tatler.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A humpbacked person; a hunchback.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     3. (Zool.)
        (a) Any whale of the genus {Megaptera}, characterized by a
            hump or bunch on the back. Several species are known.
            The most common ones in the North Atlantic are
            {Megaptera longimana} of Europe, and {Megaptera
            osphyia} of America; that of the California coasts is
            {Megaptera versabilis}.
        (b) A small salmon ({Oncorhynchus gorbuscha}), of the
            northwest coast of America; the {humpbacked salmon}.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  humpback
       n 1: an abnormal backward curve to the vertebral column [syn: {kyphosis},
             {hunchback}]
       2: a person whose back is hunched because of abnormal curvature
          of the upper spine [syn: {hunchback}, {crookback}]
       3: large whalebone whale with long flippers noted for arching
          or humping its back as it dives [syn: {humpback whale}, {Megaptera
          novaeangliae}]