Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [pawr-puh s]
- /ˈpɔr pəs/
- /ˈpɔː.pəs/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [pawr-puh s]
- /ˈpɔr pəs/
Definitions of porpoise word
- noun plural porpoise any of several small, gregarious cetaceans of the genus Phocoena, usually blackish above and paler beneath, and having a blunt, rounded snout, especially the common porpoise, P. phocoena, of both the North Atlantic and Pacific. 1
- noun plural porpoise any of several other small cetaceans, as the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis. 1
- verb without object porpoise (of a speeding motorboat) to leap clear of the water after striking a wave. 1
- verb without object porpoise (of a torpedo) to appear above the surface of the water. 1
- verb without object porpoise to move forward with a rising and falling motion in the manner of a porpoise: The car has a tendency to porpoise when overloaded. 1
- noun porpoise sea mammal 1
Information block about the term
Origin of porpoise
First appearance:
before 1275 One of the 13% oldest English words
1275-1325; Middle English porpoys < Middle French porpois < Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis hog fish, for Latin porcus marīnus sea hog
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Porpoise
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
porpoise popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 68% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
porpoise usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for porpoise
noun porpoise
Top questions with porpoise
- what is a porpoise?
- what is the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise?
- what is the difference between a porpoise and a dolphin?
- what does porpoise mean?
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- how to pronounce porpoise?
- where is porpoise spit?
- what does a porpoise look like?
- what is the difference between dolphins and porpoise?
- what is a porpoise dolphin?
- how to spell porpoise?
- how fast can a porpoise swim?
- what causes a boat to porpoise?
- what is difference between porpoise and dolphin?
- what is difference between dolphin and porpoise?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with p
- Words starting with po
- Words starting with por
- Words starting with porp
- Words starting with porpo
- Words starting with porpoi
- Words starting with porpois
- Words starting with porpoise