Find the word definition

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Megaptera osphyia

Humpback \Hump"back`\, n. [Cf. Hunchback.]

  1. A crooked back; a humped back.
    --Tatler.

  2. A humpbacked person; a hunchback.

  3. (Zo["o]l.)

    1. Any whale of the genus Megaptera, characterized by a hump or bunch on the back. Several species are known. The most common ones in the North Atlantic are Megaptera longimana of Europe, and Megaptera osphyia of America; that of the California coasts is Megaptera versabilis.

    2. A small salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), of the northwest coast of America; the humpbacked salmon.