porpoise
/ˈpɔːɹpəs/noun, verb
porpoise is spelled P-O-R-P-O-I-S-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, porpoise means “A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae, related to dolphins and whales” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of porpoise is porpoises.
How many letters and syllables are in porpoise?
| Letters | 8: P-O-R-P-O-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is porpoise?
Porpoise appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce porpoise?
- UK /ˈpɔːpəs/
- UK /pɔːˈpɔɪs/
- US /ˈpɔːɹpəs/
Porpoise has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-porpoise.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with porpoise?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as porpoise from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹpəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of porpoise
- porpoises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- porpoising participle, present
- porpoised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does porpoise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae, related to dolphins and whales.
Near-synonyms: sea hog, sea pig, seaswine, mereswine
- 2
CanadaUSAny small dolphin.
verb
- 1
Said of an air-breathing aquatic animal such as a porpoise or penguin: To repeatedly jump out of the water to take a breath and dive back in a continuous motion.
- 2
Said of an aircraft: to make a series of plunges when taking off or landing; or of a watercraft: to successively plunge up and down in the water.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Porpoise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marsouin |
| German | Tümmler, Schweinswal |
| Portuguese | marsuíno , boto |
| Spanish | marsopa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does porpoise come from?
From Middle English porpeys, purpeys, borrowed from Anglo-Norman porpeis, purpeis, Old French pourpois, porpois, pourpais, porpeis (“porpoise”), from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise”, literally “hog-fish”), taken from Latin porcus (“hog, pig”) + piscis (“fish”). Compare (in transposed order) obsolete Italian pesce porco and Portuguese peixe porco; also Latin porcus marīnus (“sea hog”); akin in formation to Frankish *mariswīn (“porpoise, dolphin”) (whence German Meerschwein, English mereswine). Displaced native Middle English brunswyn. More at mereswine.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).