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Orca

//ˈoɹkə// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.

    "In the summer, when the weather is calm and beautiful, large flocks of orcæ can be seen approaching the shallow places near the shore, or between the numerous islands of the White Sea. Several fishermen associate for hunting orcæ, each one furnishing a boat, and a large seine made of cords of the thickness of a finger, the meshes being 10½ inches square."

  2. 2
    predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas wordnet

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin orca (“tun, cask; whale”), see there for more. Although the origin is obscure, the sometimes-cited association with orcus (“underworld”) is folk-etymology. Doublet of orc.

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