dolphin

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A permanent fender designed to protect a heavy boat, bridge, or coastal structure from the impact of large floating objects such as ice, floating logs, or vessels.

   At each end of the piers in the water, in cases where several rows of pile are driven, a sort of cutwater should be formed, in order to ward off heavy bodies, such as floating trees, ice, etc. and prevent them from injuring the superstructure (called in German constructions, "Eisbrecher," or ice-breaker). This is usually done by driving one pile by itself in advance of the rest, or by forming what is called a "dolphin" at each end of the pier.

2. 2
   noun

   any of various small toothed whales with a beaklike snout

3. 3
   noun

   large slender food and game fish widely distributed in warm seas (especially around Hawaii)

4. 4
   noun

   A carnivorous aquatic mammal in one of several families of the infraorder Cetacea, famed for its intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans.

5. 5
   noun

   A fish, the mahi-mahi or dorado, Coryphaena hippurus, with a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, also known for iridescent coloration.

6. 6
   noun

   A depiction of a fish, with a broad indented fin, usually embowed.

7. 7
   noun

   The dauphin, eldest son of the kings of France.

8. 8
   noun

   A mass of iron or lead hung from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped through the deck and the hull of an enemy's vessel to sink it.

Etymology

From Middle English delphyn, from Latin delphīnus, from Ancient Greek δελφίς (delphís), from δελφύς (delphús, “womb”); the modern form in -ol- is probably influenced by the pronunciation of Middle French dauphin. Compare Swedish delfin. Doublet of dauphin. Displaced native Old English mereswīn (literally “sea pig”), whence English mereswine.