grampus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas
    killer whale; killer; sea wolf; Orcinus orca; orca.
  2. noun slaty-grey blunt-nosed dolphin common in northern seas
    Grampus griseus.

WordNet

Gram"pus noun
Etymology
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.
Wordforms
plural Grampuses
Definitions
  1. (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.
  2. A kind of tongs used in a bloomery. U.S.

Webster 1913