Definitions for: Dolphin


[n] any of various small toothed whales with a beaklike snout; larger than porpoises
[n] large slender food and game fish widely distributed in warm seas (especially around Hawaii)



Webster (1913) Definition: Dol"phin (d[o^]l"f[i^]n), n. [F. dauphin dolphin,
dauphin, earlier spelt also doffin; cf. OF. dalphinal of the
dauphin; fr. L. delphinus, Gr. delfi`s a dolphin (in senses
1, 2, & 5), perh. properly, belly fish; cf. delfy`s womb,
Skr. garbha; perh. akin to E. calf. Cf. Dauphin,
Delphine.]
1. (Zool.)
(a) A cetacean of the genus Delphinus and allied genera
(esp. D. delphis); the true dolphin.
(b) The Coryph[ae]na hippuris, a fish of about five feet
in length, celebrated for its surprising changes of
color when dying. It is the fish commonly known as the
dolphin. See Coryph[ae]noid.

Note: The dolphin of the ancients (D. delphis) is common in
the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and attains a length of
from six to eight feet.

2. [Gr. delfi`s] (Gr. Antiq.) A mass of iron or lead hung
from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped on the deck
of an enemy's vessel.

3. (Naut.)
(a) A kind of wreath or strap of plaited cordage.
(b) A spar or buoy held by an anchor and furnished with a
ring to which ships may fasten their cables. --R. H.
Dana.
(c) A mooring post on a wharf or beach.
(d) A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the
gunwale. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

4. (Gun.) In old ordnance, one of the handles above the
trunnions by which the gun was lifted.

5. (Astron.) A small constellation between Aquila and
Pegasus. See Delphinus, n., 2.

Dolphin fly (Zo["o]l.), the black, bean, or collier, Aphis
(Aphis fable), destructive to beans.

Dolphin striker (Naut.), a short vertical spar under the
bowsprit.

Synonyms: dolphinfish, mahimahi

See Also: beluga, black whale, blackfish, bottlenose, bottlenose dolphin, bottle-nosed dolphin, common blackfish, common dolphin, Coryphaena equisetis, Coryphaena hippurus, Coryphaenidae, Delphinapterus leucas, Delphinidae, Delphinus delphis, family Coryphaenidae, family Delphinidae, Globicephala melaena, grampus, Grampus griseus, killer, killer whale, orca, Orcinus orca, percoid, percoid fish, percoidean, pilot whale, porpoise, river dolphin, sea wolf, toothed whale, white whale

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