porpoise

1 of 2

noun

por·​poise ˈpȯr-pəs 

1

: any of a family (Phocoenidae) of small gregarious toothed whales

especially : a blunt-snouted usually dark gray whale (Phocoena phocoena) of the North Atlantic and North Pacific that typically ranges from 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) in length

2

: dolphin sense 1a(1)

—not used technically

Note: While not closely related, porpoises and dolphins share a physical resemblance that often leads to misidentification. Porpoises typically have flat, spade-shaped teeth, triangular dorsal fins, and shortened beaks with relatively small mouths while dolphins have cone-shaped teeth, curved dorsal fins, and elongated beaks with larger mouths.

porpoise

2 of 2

verb

porpoised; porpoising; porpoises

intransitive verb

1

: to leap or plunge like a porpoise

penguins … porpoise out of the water

—David Lewis

2

: to rise and fall repeatedly

Examples of porpoise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Cetaceans—whales, dolphins and porpoises—evolved from the few terrestrial mammals that weren’t impressed with what the land had to offer and returned to the more copious seas. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024

Strandings of marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises, seals and whales have risen dramatically over the last few years, the Cape Cod Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. —Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2024

Verb

In the afternoon, another zodiac takes you for an hour-long cruise around glaciers and alongside porpoising chinstrap penguins. —Katie Lockhart, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2024

As if on cue, dolphins porpoised in the water directly ahead. —Emma Allen, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English porpoys, from Anglo-French porpeis, from Medieval Latin porcopiscis, from Latin porcus pig + piscis fish — more at farrow, fish

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing porpoise

• Dall's porpoise

Kids Definition

porpoise

noun

por·​poise

ˈpȯr-pəs

1

: any of several small whales with teeth and blunt rounded snouts that live and travel in groups

2

: dolphin sense 1a

Etymology

Noun

Middle English porpoys "porpoise," from early French porpeis (same meaning), from Latin porcopiscis, literally, "pig fish," from porcus "pig" and piscis "fish"; originally in Latin called porcus marinus, literally, "pig of the sea" — related to porcupine, pork

Word Origin

The porpoise is a swift and graceful swimmer. But both its name and pork, the English word for the meat of hogs, can be traced to Latin porcus, meaning "pig." The porpoise's rounded face must have reminded ancient Romans of a pig's snout. They named the animal porcus marinus, meaning "pig of the sea." In the Middle Ages this became porcopiscus, from Latin porcus "pig" and piscis "fish." In early French, the word was borrowed as porpeis. It is from the French that we derived our English word porpoise.