delphinus

See also: Delphinus

Latin

Alternative forms

delphīn

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷelbʰ-der.

Ancient Greek δελφίς (delphís)bor.

Latin delphīnus

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δελφίς (delphís).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [dɛɫˈpʰiː.nʊs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [delˈfiː.nus]

Noun

delphīnus m (genitive delphīnī); second declension

a dolphin (an aquatic mammal of the family Delphinidae or Platanistidae)
the constellation Delphinus
a kind of decorative furniture, possibly decorated with dolphins
(Medieval Latin) dauphin (the eldest son of the king of France)

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	delphīnus	delphīnī
genitive	delphīnī	delphīnōrum
dative	delphīnō	delphīnīs
accusative	delphīnum	delphīnōs
ablative	delphīnō	delphīnīs
vocative	delphīne	delphīnī

Derived terms

delphīna (“dauphine, dauphiness”)
delphīnālis (“delphinal”)
delphīnātus (“dauphinate”)
- Delphīnātus Arvernus (“the Dauphinate of Auvergne”)
- Delphīnātus Viennēnsis (“the Dauphinate of Vienne or Dauphinate of Viennois”)
  - Delphīnātus (“the Delphinate, Dauphiny or Dauphiné”)
    - Delphīnātēnsis (“Dauphinese, Dauphinois”)

Descendants

Asturian: llofín, golfín
Catalan: dofí, delfí
→ Dutch: dolfijn
French: dauphin (see there for further descendants)
Galician: delfín
→ German: Delphin, Delfin (1996 spelling reform, now roughly equally common)
- → Bulgarian: делфи́н (delfín)
- → Czech: delfín
- → Macedonian: делфин (delfin)
- → Middle Russian: дельфи́нъ (delʹfín)
  - Russian: дельфи́н (delʹfín)
    - → Armenian: դելֆին (delfin)
    - → Azerbaijani: delfin
    - → Bezhta: делфин (delfin)
    - → Kazakh: дельфин (delʹfiyn)
    - → Kyrgyz: дельфин (delfin)
    - → Tajik: делфин (delfin)
    - → Turkmen: delfin
    - → Uyghur: دېلفىن (dëlfin)
    - → Uzbek: delfin
- → Polish: delfin
  - → Old Ruthenian: делфи́нъ (delfín)
    - Belarusian: дэльфі́н (delʹfín)
    - Carpathian Rusyn: делфи́н (delfýn)
    - Ukrainian: дельфі́н (delʹfín)
- → Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic script: дѐлфӣн
  Latin script: dèlfīn
- → Slovak: delfín
- → Swedish: delfin
- → Upper Sorbian: delfin
Istriot: dulfeîn
Italian: delfino
Ligurian: delfìn, drafìn
→ Middle English: delphyn, delfyne, delphin, dolphyn
- English: dolphin
- Scots: dowphin
- → Welsh: dolffin
Occitan: dalfin
Old Galician-Portuguese: golfinno
- Galician: golfiño
- Portuguese: golfinho
Portuguese: delfim
Romagnol: dilfòin
Romanian: delfin
Romansh: delfin
Sardinian: gorfinu, grufinu, gurfinu
Sicilian: dirfinu, derfinu, draffinu, darfinu
Spanish: delfín, golfín
Translingual: Delphinus; Delphinium
Venetan: dolfin, delfin
→ Albanian: delfin

References

“delphinus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“delphinus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
"delphinus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
“delphinus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.