dolphin

B1 Topic:Animals

US /ˈdɑlf.ɪn/ UK /ˈdɒlf.ɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #9547

Meanings

1

noun
An intelligent sea mammal with a long nose, known for being playful and friendly toward humans.

A group of dolphins followed the boat, leaping out of the waves.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms dolphins

Derived forms delphinedolphin-friendlydolphinariumdolphinesedolphinetdolphinfishdolphiningdolphinkinddolphinlessdolphinlikedolphinspeakwholphin

Related forms cetacean pod porpoise seal whale

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

river dolphin
a long-snouted dolphin that usually lives in freshwater rivers

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Dolphin goes back through French and Latin to Greek delphin. English already had the form delphin in the early Middle Ages, but the French-derived dolphin appeared in the later Middle Ages and displaced the older form during the 17th century.

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.

delphyn Middle English delphīnus Latin δελφίς Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Animals

External links

# dolphin

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɑlf.ɪn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɒlf.ɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 9547

## Meanings
1. An intelligent sea mammal with a long nose, known for being playful and friendly toward humans.

## Examples
- A group of dolphins followed the boat, leaping out of the waves.

## Derived Forms
- delphine
- dolphin-friendly
- dolphinarium
- dolphinese
- dolphinet
- dolphinfish
- dolphining
- dolphinkind
- dolphinless
- dolphinlike
- dolphinspeak
- wholphin

## Related Forms
- cetacean
- pod
- porpoise
- seal
- whale

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: delphyn
- Root: delphīnus
- Root: δελφίς

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Dolphin comes 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. In current use, the main sense is “An intelligent sea mammal with a long nose, known for being playful and friendly toward humans”.

## Topics
- Animals

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