porpoise

1 of 2

noun

por·​poise ˈpȯr-pəs How to pronounce porpoise (audio)
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 waterDavid Lewis
2
: to rise and fall repeatedly

Examples of porpoise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Meet us back here at 2, and remember, dolphins will sometimes kill porpoises for sport. Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 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
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 See all Example Sentences for porpoise 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of porpoise was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near porpoise

Cite this Entry

“Porpoise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porpoise. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

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
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.

More from Merriam-Webster on porpoise

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