Porpoise

3 definitions found

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

  Porpoise \Por"poise\, n. [OE. porpeys, OF. porpeis, literally,
     hog fish, from L. porcus swine + piscis fish. See {Pork}, and
     {Fish}.]
     1. (Zool.) Any small cetacean of the genus {Phoc[ae]na},
        especially {Phoc[ae]na communis}, or {Phoc[ae]na
        phoc[ae]na}, of Europe, and the closely allied American


        species ({Phoc[ae]na Americana}). The color is dusky or
        blackish above, paler beneath. They are closely allied to
        the dolphins, but have a shorter snout. Called also
        {harbor porpoise}, {herring hag}, {puffing pig}, and
        {snuffer}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) A true dolphin ({Delphinus}); -- often so called
        by sailors.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Skunk porpoise}, or {Bay porpoise} (Zool.), a North American
        porpoise ({Lagenorhynchus acutus}), larger than the common
        species, and with broad stripes of white and yellow on the
        sides. See Illustration in Appendix.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  porpoise
       n : any of several small gregarious cetacean mammals having a
           blunt snout and many teeth

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  30 Moby Thesaurus words for "porpoise":
     Loch Ness monster, alevin, benthon, benthos, cetacean, dolphin,
     fingerling, fish, fry, game fish, grilse, kipper, man-eater,
     man-eating shark, marine animal, minnow, minny, nekton, panfish,
     plankton, salmon, sea monster, sea pig, sea serpent, sea snake,
     shark, smolt, sponge, tropical fish, whale