different between porpoise vs vaquita

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

English

Etymology

From Spanish vaquita (“little cow”), diminutive of vaca (“cow”).

Noun

vaquita (plural vaquitas)

1. A small and critically endangered porpoise, Phocoena sinus, endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California, Mexico.
   • 2015 November 5, Whale of a deal, New Scientist, Issue 3098, page 6,

     THE world’s smallest porpoise may have a fighting chance. The vaquita might be saved from extinction by an agreement at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Portoroz, Slovenia, last week.

     Unique to the Gulf of California, the vaquita has seen its numbers collapse to 59 in 2015.

Synonyms

• cochito
• desert porpoise
• Gulf of California harbor porpoise
• Gulf of California porpoise
• gulf porpoise
• vaquita marina
• vaquita porpoise

Translations

See also

• sea cow

Anagrams

• aquavit

Spanish

Noun

vaquita f (plural vaquitas)

1. Diminutive of vaca, little cow

   Synonym: vaquilla

Derived terms

• vaquita marina (“vaquita”)