grampus

Definitions

  • WordNet 3.6
    • n grampus slaty-grey blunt-nosed dolphin common in northern seas
    • n grampus predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
    • Grampus A kind of tongs used in a bloomery.
    • Grampus (Zoöl) A toothed delphinoid cetacean, of the genus Grampus, esp. G. griseus of Europe and America, which is valued for its oil. It grows to be fifteen to twenty feet long; its color is gray with white streaks. Called also cowfish. The California grampus is G. Stearnsii.
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
    • n grampus A cetacean of the family Delphinidæ, subfamily Delphininæ, and genus Phocæna or Orca, etc.; some large dolphin-like or porpoise-like cetacean, of predatory and carnivorous habits.
    • n grampus A cetacean of the family Delphinidæ and subfamily Globicephalinæ; a caaing- or pilot-whale; a blackfish or cowfish. In superficial characters it resembles the preceding, and grows to even larger size, but is timid and inoffensive. See cut under Globicephalus.
    • n grampus [capitalized] [NL.] A genus of grampuses, containing such as G. griseus. They are related to the caaing-whales (Globicephalus), and not specially to the pre-daceous grampuses (Orca), have no teeth in the upper jaw and few in the lower, and 68 vertebræ). There are several species.
    • n grampus The dobson or hellgrammite: more fully called water-grampus.
    • n grampus A pursy, puffy fellow; an obese person.
    • n grampus The whip-tailed scorpion, Thelyphonus giganteus. Also called mule-killer, nigger-killer, and in the West Indies vinaigrier, or vinegar-maker, from its acid secretion. LFlorida, U. S.]
    • n grampus The tongs with which the blooms are handled in a bloomery.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
    • n Grampus gram′pus a large voracious fish of the dolphin family, common in almost all seas.
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Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Probably corrupted from It. gran pesce, great fish, or Sp. gran pez, or Pg. gran peixe, all fr. L. grandis piscis,. See Grand, and Fish. the animal
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
A sailor's corr. of It. gran pesce, or Sp. gran pez, great fish—L. grandis piscis, great fish.

Usage

In literature:

She sleeps like a top, an' feeds like a grampus, an' does little else but laugh at what's goin' on around her.
"The Prairie Chief" by R.M. Ballantyne
Stir up that grampus of a cook!
"The Young Fur Traders" by R.M. Ballantyne
And haven't you a handsome face, an' a handsome figgur, which is eight, you grampus!
"The Young Trawler" by R.M. Ballantyne
If the girl's willin' to have me I'll wed her in spite o' the old grampus.
"Personal Reminiscences in Book Making" by R.M. Ballantyne
When I got there, I found him all doubled up with asthma, wheezing like a grampus.
"The Brentons" by Anna Chapin Ray
Passing the washstand, he secured an enormous sponge, which an instant later flew souse into the face of the grampus.
"The Hill" by Horace Annesley Vachell
Grampus, is that you?
"Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader" by R.M. Ballantyne
See here: his line is quiverin' as if a grampus was nibblin' at the end of it.
"Under the Waves" by R M Ballantyne
Puffing like a grampus, he reached the road, and then ran with all his might, as if the Sea Cliff House was on fire.
"The Coming Wave" by Oliver Optic
A still more interesting sight was that of a great grampus, which rose close to the ship, exposing his body as he leapt through a wave.
"A Boy's Voyage Round the World" by The Son of Samuel Smiles
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