Mereswine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic name for the porpoise, a small toothed whale that lives in coastal and river waters
2. An old term for a small, dark-colored toothed whale related to dolphins, found in shallow seas
3. A obsolete word for the porpoise, the stocky marine mammal with a blunt snout and triangular fin

Etymology: Old English speakers called the porpoise "mereswīn," literally "sea-swine," joining "mere," meaning sea or lake, to "swīn," the ordinary word for pig. The pairing looks odd to modern ears, but it follows a pattern: the Germanic languages often named sea creatures after familiar land animals, and the porpoise's blunt snout and rounded body apparently suggested a pig to early speakers. The word passed into Middle English as "mereswyn," still meaning porpoise or dolphin, and the sense has since narrowed and shifted. Today "mereswine" is a term for a small toothed whale, a meaning far more specific than the broad sea-creature sense the older forms carried.

Synonyms: porpoise