different between cetacean vs porpoise

English

Wikispecies

Etymology

From New Latin cetacea, from Latin cetus (“whale”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s??te???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Adjective

cetacean (comparative more cetacean, superlative most cetacean)

1. Pertaining to the zoologic order Cetacea, or associated with species falling under that taxonomic hierarchy.

   The poached blubber was definitely cetacean in origin, but the particular species could not be identified.

   • 2012, Hampton Roads Republican US Senate Debate Summary:

     She was not as demure as she was in Roanoke; she seemed at the beginning rather like she felt more comfortable in the oceanic atmosphere harpooning her opponent. Indeed, at times, it seemed she was Ahab and the witherwin Allen was her Moby Dick; but while she sails her Pequod just as intently toward a singular goal, her alastor is much less clear and she bears no visible scars of a cetacean attacker.

2. (by extension, sometimes figuratively) Resembling or relating to large aquatic mammals.

   The obese woman, ungainly on land, moved with a kind of cetacean grace in the water.

Synonyms

• (belonging to order Cetacea): cetaceous

Noun

cetacean (plural cetaceans)

1. An animal belonging to the order Cetacea, including dolphins, porpoises, and whales.

   The tour promised spiritual experiences with humpback whales and other cetaceans, but all we saw were seagulls and a dead sea otter.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English porpeys, purpeys, borrowed from Anglo-Norman porpeis, purpeis, Old French pourpois, porpois, pourpais, porpeis (“porpoise”), from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise”, literally “pig-fish”), from Latin porcus (“pig”) + piscis (“fish”). Compare (in transposed order) obsolete Italian pesce porco and Portuguese peixe porco; also Latin porcus marinus (“sea hog”), akin in formation to German Meerschwein, English mereswine. More at mereswine.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p??p?s/, /p???p??s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?p???p?s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)p?s, -??s

Noun

porpoise (plural porpoises)

1. A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae, related to dolphins and whales.

   Synonyms: garfish, mereswine, sea hog, sea pig, seaswine

2. (Canada, US, imprecisely) Any small dolphin.

Translations

Verb

porpoise (third-person singular simple present porpoises, present participle porpoising, simple past and past participle porpoised)

1. (intransitive) Said of an air-breathing aquatic animal such as a porpoise or penguin: To repeatedly jump out of the water to take a breath and dive back in a continuous motion.
2. (intransitive) Said of an aircraft: to make a series of plunges when taking off or landing; or of a watercraft: to successively plunge up and down in the water.

See also

• dolphin
• killer whale
• pod
• sea lion
• seal
• whale
• Appendix:English collective nouns