What is "dolphin"

dolphin \dol"phin\ (d[o^]l"f[i^]n), n. [F. dauphin dolphin, dauphin, earlier spelt also doffin; cf. OF. dalphinal of the dauphin; fr. L. delphinus, Gr. delfi`s a dolphin (in senses 1, 2, 3, & 6), perh. properly, belly fish; cf. delfy`s womb, Skr. garbha; perh. akin to E. calf. Cf. Dauphin, Delphine.]

1. (Zool.) A cetacean of the genus Delphinus and allied genera (esp. Delphinus delphis); the true dolphin.

   Note: The dolphin of the ancients ( Delphinus delphis) is common in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and attains a length of from six to eight feet.

2. (Zool.) The Coryph[ae]na hippuris, a fish of about five feet in length, celebrated for its surprising changes of color when dying. It is the fish commonly known as the dolphin. The term is also applied to the related Coryphaena equisetis. Called also dolphinfish and (especially in Hawaii) mahimahi. See also dolphinfish and Coryph[ae]noid.

   Syn: dolphinfish, mahimahi.

3. [Gr. delfi`s] (Gr. Antiq.) A mass of iron or lead hung from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped on the deck of an enemy's vessel.

4. (Naut.)

   1. A kind of wreath or strap of plaited cordage.

   2. A spar or buoy held by an anchor and furnished with a ring to which ships may fasten their cables.
      --R. H. Dana.

   3. A mooring post on a wharf or beach.

   4. A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the gunwale.
      --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

5. (Gun.) In old ordnance, one of the handles above the trunnions by which a cannon was lifted.

6. (Astron.) A small constellation between Aquila and Pegasus. See Delphinus, n., 2.

   Dolphin fly (Zo["o]l.), the black, bean, or collier, Aphis ( Aphis fable), destructive to beans.

   Dolphin striker (Naut.), a short vertical spar under the bowsprit.

mid-14c., from Old French daulphin, from Medieval Latin dolfinus, from Latin delphinus "dolphin," from Greek delphis (genitive delphinos) "dolphin," related to delphys "womb," perhaps via notion of the animal bearing live young, or from its shape, from PIE *gwelbh-. Popularly applied to the dorado from late 16c.

Etymology 1 n. 1 A carnivorous aquatic mammal inhabiting mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelf, famed for its intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans. 2 A fish, the mahi-mahi or dorado, ''Coryphaena hippurus'', with a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, also known for iridescent coloration. 3 The dauphin, eldest son of the kings of France. 4 (context historical English) A mass of iron or lead hung from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped through the deck and the hull of an enemy's vessel to sink it. 5 (context nautical English) A kind of wreath or strap of plaited cordage. 6 (context nautical English) A spar or buoy held by an anchor and furnished with a ring to which ships may fasten their cables. 7 A mooring post on a wharf or beach. 8 A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the gunwale. 9 (context military obsolete English) One of the handles above the trunnions by which a gun was lifted. Etymology 2

n. (context nautical English) A man-made semi submerged maritime structure, usually installed to provide a fixed structure for temporary mooring, to prevent ships from drifting to shallow water or to serve as base for navigational aids.

1. n. large slender food and game fish widely distributed in warm seas (especially around Hawaii) [syn: dolphinfish, mahimahi]

2. any of various small toothed whales with a beaklike snout; larger than porpoises

Dolphin usually refers to any member of the mammal families Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) and Platanistoidea (river dolphins).

It can also refer to either species in the fish family Coryphaenidae:

• the mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus)
• the pompano dolphinfish (Coryphaena equiselis)

Dolphin may also refer to:

Dolphins are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the order Cetacea, excluding whales and porpoises, so to zoologists the grouping is paraphyletic. The dolphins comprise the extant families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the new world river dolphins), and Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins). There are 40 extant species of dolphins. Dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulates, and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago.

Dolphins range in size from the long and Maui's dolphin to the and killer whale. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can travel at . Dolphins use their conical shaped teeth to capture fast moving prey. They have well-developed hearing—their hearing, which is adapted for both air and water, is so well developed that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water.

Although dolphins are widespread, most species prefer the warmer waters of the tropic zones, but some, like the right whale dolphin, prefer colder climates. Dolphins feed largely on fish and squid, but a few, like the killer whale, feed on large mammals, like seals. Male dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them. Mothers of some species fast and nurse their young for a relatively long period of time. Dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks and whistles.

Dolphins are sometimes hunted in places like Japan, in an activity known as dolphin drive hunting. Besides drive hunting, they also face threats from bycatch, habitat loss, and marine pollution. Dolphins have been depicted in various cultures worldwide. Dolphins occasionally feature in literature and film, as in the film series Free Willy. Dolphins are sometimes kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks, but breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. The most common dolphins kept are killer whales and bottlenose dolphins.

Dolphin is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer-artist Jay Scott Pike, she debuted in Showcase #79 (Dec. 1968).

Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator for the GameCube, Wii and Triforce that runs on Windows, Linux, OS X, and Android. It was the first emulator to successfully run commercial GameCube games, and is the only emulator capable of running commercial Wii games. Its name refers to the development code name for the GameCube.

Andrey Vyacheslavovich Lysikov (born September 29, 1971, Moscow) is a Russian musical artist, singer, songwriter, poet and rapper, known by his stage name Dolphin (or Дельфин). He won the award of best artist at the 2004 MTV Russian Music Awards. He also played at the Live 8 Russia concert.

Dolphin is a diesel locomotive currently based on the Groudle Glen Railway. Dolphin has a sister locomotive Walrus.

Dolphin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Arthur Dolphin (1885–1942), English first-class cricketer
• Bill Dolphin (born 1881), Australian rules footballer
• David Dolphin (born 1940), Canadian biochemist
• Frank Dolphin, Irish businessman
• James Dolphin (born 1983), New Zealand sprinter
• John Dolphin (1905–1973), British engineer and inventor

Dolphin is a social networking software platform written in PHP, using MySQL database. It is licensed under CC-BY License.

Dolphin is a side-scrolling video game for Atari consoles.

A dolphin was an ancient naval weapon carried by Greek galleys. Essentially a weaponized anchor, the dolphin was a shaped heavy weight which would be flung or dropped onto an enemy boat to attempt to breach the hull.

A dolphin is a man-made marine structure that extends above the water level and is not connected to shore.

Dolphins are usually installed to provide a fixed structure when it would be impractical to extend the shore to provide a dry access facility, for example, when ships (or the number of ships expected) are greater than the length of the berth/pier.

Typical uses include extending a berth (a berthing dolphin) or providing a point to moor to (a mooring dolphin). Dolphins are also used to display regulatory information like speed limits etc., other information like advertising or directions and navigation information like a daybeacon as well as ranges and lighted aids to navigation.

Mooring dolphins can also be used to "cushion" ship impacts, somewhat similar to fenders.

The structures typically consist of a number of piles driven into the seabed or riverbed and connected above the water level to provide a platform or fixing point. The piles can be untreated azobé wood, pressure treated pine wood poles, or steel or reinforced concrete beams, blocks or tubes. Smaller dolphins can have the piles drawn together with wire rope, but larger dolphins are typically fixed using a reinforced concrete capping or a structural steel frame.

Access to a dolphin may be via a pedestrian bridge (mooring dolphins) but is usually by boat.

Dolphin is a free and open source file manager included in the KDE Applications bundle which contains applications used primarily with the KDE Plasma 5 desktop. Dolphin became the default file manager of KDE-based desktop environments in the fourth iteration, termed KDE Software Compilation 4. It could also be optionally installed on K Desktop Environment 3. Konqueror was replaced as the default file manager for KDE SC 4, but is still the default web browser and can be used as an alternative file manager for power users.

Under previous K Desktop Environment versions, Konqueror had served both as the default file manager and web browser. However, for many years users have been critical of Konqueror as being too complex for simple file navigation. As a response, the two functions were divided into two separate applications. Under KDE SC 4, Dolphin was streamlined for browsing files, while sharing as much code as possible with Konqueror. Konqueror continues to be developed primarily as a web browser.

In 2014, work started on porting Dolphin to KDE Frameworks 5. This is now complete and a Frameworks 5-based version was released as part of KDE Applications 15.08 in August 2015.