dolphin
/ˈdɑlf.ɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.67 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A carnivorous cetacean, typically with a beak-like snout, famed for their intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans.
noun
A carnivorous cetacean, typically with a beak-like snout, famed for their intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans.
noun
A fish, the mahi-mahi or dorado, Coryphaena hippurus, with a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, also known for iridescent coloration.
Example Sentences
- "At each end of the piers in the water, in cases where several rows of pile are driven, a sort of cutwater should be formed, in order to ward off heavy bodies, such as floating trees, ice, etc. and prevent them from injuring the superstructure (called in German constructions, "Eisbrecher," or ice-breaker). This is usually done by driving one pile by itself in advance of the rest, or by forming what is called a "dolphin" at each end of the pier."
- "An ice-breaker or dolphin was also constructed during the latter part of the autumn, a little above the site for No. 2 dam, or that for the twoer nearest the Pesth shore; this dolphin, which served as a protection against the ice, rafts, &c. was constructed at this time, so that a means might be afforded of judging of the actual force of the ice during the winter ensuing; and the event proved that its construction was most fortunate, as the winter of 1840-41 was unusually severe."
- "The Dolphin is now seldom used, but a rope treated in the same manner, with mousings raised on it at regular intervals, is sometimes put around a Launch, just below the gunwale outside and secured there as a sort of permanent fender; this also is called a Dolphin."
- "For a dolphin or buoy to be placed on the south point of Goat Island, in the harbor of Newport, one hundred and fifty dollars."
- "Sometimes a stoppage would take place owing to the accumulation of ice between the Dolphin and the dam, which kept that above back until a mass of ice more resembling an island than anything else it can be compared to, would force the whole mass before it, breaking up the large blocks accumulated at the dam into a thousand pieces."
Etymology
From Middle English delphyn, from Latin delphīnus, from Ancient Greek δελφίς (delphís), from δελφύς (delphús, “womb”); the modern form in -ol- is probably influenced by the pronunciation of Middle French dauphin. Compare Swedish delfin. Doublet of dauphin. Displaced native Old English mereswīn (literally “sea pig”), whence English mereswine.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: delphyn, delphīnus, δελφίς, dukdalf, Dolfin, Dólgfinnr
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɑlf.ɪn/
- British English: /ˈdɒlf.ɪn/
Usage
- Obsolete
- American usage
- Slang
- Countable
- Uncountable
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Amazon dolphin
Amazon River dolphin
Arabian common dolphin
Araguaian river dolphin
Atlantic humpback dolphin
Atlantic spotted dolphin
Atlantic white-sided dolphin
Australian snubfin dolphin