Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

grampus

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.64 in modern English

Syllables: gram-pus
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A killer whale (Orcinus orca).

Archaic

noun

Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), with a blunt nose.

noun

A hellbender salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis.

noun

A giant whip scorpion (Mastigoproctus giganteus)

Example Sentences

"Some time after this we saw some very large fish, which I afterwards found were called grampusses."
"The Governor will blow like an old grampus, I know he will,—well, we must stop till he gets his wind again."
"‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’"
"Blowing like a grampus from every orifice, I leaned on a passing wave which dumped me[.]"

Etymology

From Middle English *grampas, grappays, grapas, graspeys, from Anglo-Norman grampais, Old French graspois, craspois (“whale, (salted) whale meat; blubber; seal”), from Medieval Latin craspicis (literally “fat fish”), from Latin crassus (“fat”) + piscis (“fish”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *grampas, grampais, graspois, craspicis, crassus

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

grampuses (plural)

Phrases

blow the grampus

Frequently Paired Words

crass Pisces

Synonyms

grampus griseus killer whale killer orca sea wolf orcinus orca

Questions

What does grampus mean?: A killer whale (Orcinus orca).
Where does grampus come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce grampus

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