Walrus

  • 1Walrus — Wal rus, n. [D. walrus; of Scand. origin; cf. Dan valros, Sw. vallross, Norw. hvalros; literally, whale horse; akin to Icel. hrosshvalr, AS. horshw[ae]l. See {Whale}, and {Horse}.] (Zo[ o]l.) A very large marine mammal ({Trichecus rosmarus}) of… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2walrus — 1650s, from Du. walrus, which was probably a folk etymology alteration (by influence of Du. walvis whale and ros horse ) of a Scandinavian word, such as O.N. rosmhvalr walrus, hrosshvalr a kind of whale, or rostungr walrus. O.E. had horschwæl,… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3walrus — [wôl′rəs] n. pl. walruses or walrus [Du < Dan hvalros, prob. by metathesis < ON hrosshvalr, lit., horse whale < hross, akin to OE hros, horse + hvalr, WHALE1] a massive, arctic sea carnivore (Odobenus rosmarus) of the same family… …

    English World dictionary

  • 4walrus — ► NOUN ▪ a large marine mammal having two large downward pointing tusks, found in the Arctic Ocean. ORIGIN probably Dutch, perhaps from an Old Norse word meaning horse whale …

    English terms dictionary

  • 5Walrus — For other uses, see Walrus (disambiguation). Walrus[1] …

    Wikipedia

  • 6walrus — /wawl reuhs, wol /, n., pl. walruses, (esp. collectively) walrus. a large marine mammal, Odobenus nosmarus, of arctic seas, related to the seals, and having flippers, a pair of large tusks, and a tough, wrinkled skin. [1645 55; < D: lit., whale&#8230; …

    Universalium

  • 7Walrus — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sur les autres projets Wikimedia&#160;: «&#160;Walrus&#160;», sur le Wiktionnaire (dictionnaire universel) …

    Wikipédia en Français

  • 8walrus — [17] Etymologically, a walrus is probably a ‘whale horse’. The word seems to have been borrowed from Dutch walrus, which was an inversion of a presumed prehistoric Germanic compound represented by Old English horschwæl and Old Norse hrosshvalr.&#8230; …

    The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • 9walrus — [17] Etymologically, a walrus is probably a ‘whale horse’. The word seems to have been borrowed from Dutch walrus, which was an inversion of a presumed prehistoric Germanic compound represented by Old English horschwæl and Old Norse hrosshvalr.&#8230; …

    Word origins

  • 10walrus —    Used in American slang since the 1920s, according to Chapman’s Dictionary of American Slang, to refer to a short, fat person.    British speakers of English would probably associate the word with the walrus moustache, which hangs down both&#8230; …

    A dictionary of epithets and terms of address