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dolphin

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dol⋅phin

  [dol-fin, dawl-]
Use dolphin in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several chiefly marine, cetacean mammals of the family Delphinidae, having a fishlike body, numerous teeth, and the front of the head elongated into a beaklike projection.
2. Also called dolphinfish, mahimahi, pompano dolphin. either of two large, slender fishes, Coryphaena hippurus or C. equisetis, of warm and temperate seas.
3. Nautical.
a. a pile, cluster of piles, or buoy to which a vessel may be moored in open water.
b. a cluster of piles used as a fender, as at the entrance to a dock.
c. a pudding fender at the nose of a tugboat or on the side of a vessel.
4. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Delphinus.
Origin:
1300–50; ME dolphyn < OF daulphin < OPr dalfin < VL *dalfīnus, L delphīnus < Gk delphn
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dol·phin   (dŏl'fĭn, dôl'-)   
n.   pl. dolphin or dol·phins

  1. Any of various marine cetacean mammals, such as the bottle-nosed dolphin, of the family Delphinidae, related to the whales but generally smaller and having a beaklike snout.

    1. A large marine food and game fish (Coryphaena hippurus) found worldwide in tropical waters, having an iridescent blue back, yellow sides, a steep blunt forehead, and a long continuous dorsal fin. Also called dolphinfish, dorado, mahi-mahi.

    2. A similar fish (C. equisetis) of smaller size, having silvery or pale yellow sides. Also called dolphinfish, pompano dolphin.

    3. A buoy, pile, or group of piles used for mooring boats.

    4. A group of piers used as a fender at a dock.

    1. A buoy, pile, or group of piles used for mooring boats.

    2. A group of piers used as a fender at a dock.


[Middle English, from Old French daulfin, blend of daufin and Old Provençal dalfin, both from Medieval Latin *dalfinus, from Latin delphīnus, from Greek delphīs, delphīn-, from delphus, womb (from its shape).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dolphin 
c.1350, from O.Fr. daulphin, from M.L. dolfinus, from L. delphinus "dolphin," from Gk. delphis (gen. delphinos) "dolphin," related to delphys "womb," probably via notion of the animal bearing live young. Popularly applied to the dorado from late 16c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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