rhizoverbBeta
DictionarygrampusLarge dolphin
noun

grampus

GRAM-pus/ˈɡræmpəs/

A large dolphin.

The black-and-white grampus swims with its conical teeth slightly exposed.

A single adult orca swimming in a sparse cutaway of seawater, its unmistakable black-and-white body fully visible and its slightly open mouth revealing conical teeth.
Etymology
gramLatinthick, fat
+pusLatinfish

The ancestral compound meant ‘great fish’ or ‘fat fish,’ describing the creature by its bulk and fishlike appearance. English applied the name to killer whales and other large dolphin-like marine mammals.

More examples

  • We watch two grampuses swim away from the shore.
  • The guide identifies the large dolphin as a grampus.
  • The grampus disappears beneath the waves.

Forms

grampus · grampuses

Similar words

dolphin
A broader term that includes smaller species as well.
orca
Names one particular large dolphin, also called a killer whale.