DOLPHIN • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Dolphin

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/dˈɑlfən/ Listen

noun

dolphin n.

1.

(Zool.) A cetacean of the genus Delphinus and allied genera (esp. Delphinus delphis); the true dolphin. Note: The dolphin of the ancients (Delphinus delphis) is common in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and attains a length of from six to eight feet.

2.

(Zool.) The Coryphaena 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. The term is also applied to the related Coryphaena equisetis. Called also dolphinfish and (especially in Hawaii) mahimahi. See also dolphinfish and Coryphaenoid.

Synonyms: dolphinfish, mahimahi.

3.

(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.

4.

(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.

(c)

A mooring post on a wharf or beach.

(d)

A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the gunwale.

5.

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

6.

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

Dolphin fly (Zool.), the black, bean, or collier, Aphis (Aphis fable), destructive to beans.

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

See images of 'Dolphin'

Etymology of 'Dolphin'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Dolphin" Quotes from Famous Books

... year a dolphin comes to swim near your boat, I pray you play to him on the flute the Delphic Hymn to Apollo. Do you like the sea, Monsieur ...

— The Red Lily, Complete • Anatole France

... whose relationship to Indra was in some respects analogous to that of Ea to Marduk in Babylonia.[151] The Indian "sea-goat" or Makara was in fact intimately associated both with Varuna and with Indra. This monster assumed a great variety of forms, such as the crocodile, the dolphin, the sea-serpent or dragon, or combinations of the heads of different animals with a fish's body (Fig. 14). Amongst these we find an elephant-headed form of the makara, which was adopted as far east as Indonesia and as ...

— The Evolution of the Dragon • G. Elliot Smith

... titles that were formerly given in Europe, some of which have descended to our times. The name of the country, as well as the title of the sovereign, in the case of Dauphine, was derived from the same source. Thus, in homely English, the Dolphin of Dolphinstown, renders "le Dauphin de Dauphine" perfectly well. The last independent Dauphin, in bequeathing his states to the King of France of the day, (the unfortunate John, the prisoner of the Black Prince,) made a condition ...

— Recollections of Europe • J. Fenimore Cooper

... up the stairs came some one to whom they were familiar, and the door was opened. Peyrade, in a violent sweat, his face purple, his eyes almost blood-stained, and gasping like a dolphin, rushed from the outer door ...

— Scenes from a Courtesan's Life • Honore de Balzac

... Cape pigeons. Altogether there is quite enough of what I will call superstition at sea. One particular bird brings fine weather, another storms; it is very important to notice which way the whale swims or the dolphin leaps; the success of seal-hunting depends on whether the first seal is seen ahead or astern, and so on. Enough ...

— The South Pole, Volumes 1 and 2 • Roald Amundsen

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