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walrus

noun, verb — 6 senses

walrus

noun

UK /ˈwɔːl.ɹəs/ · AU, UK, NZ /ˈwoːl.ɹəs/

Etymology Probably borrowed from Dutch walrus, a compound of wal (“whale”) and ros (“horse”). Displaced native Old English horshwæl (literally “horse-whale”). Compare similar constructions in Danish hvalros, Old Norse hrosshvalr, and German Walross.

1

A large Arctic pinniped having long tusks, tough, wrinkled skin, and four flippers, Odobenus rosmarus.

  • Of all the Phocine family none present so terrible and grotesque an appearance as the gigantic Walrus, also known as the morse and sea-horse.1887, James W. Buel, Sea and Land, page 251:
2

Derogatory, Informal, Sometimes A man with a walrus moustache.

  • You old walrus, don't you think it is time for you to lop your whiskers off?2008, James E. Martin, The Chartreuse Mongoose, page 145:
  • One, a rumpled, whiskered walrus of a man, held a lantern near Mother's face.2013, Marione Ingram, The Hands of War:
Derived terms
Ambien walrus, she-walrus, walruslike, walrus moustache, walrus mustache, walrus operator

walrus

verb

Etymology Probably borrowed from Dutch walrus, a compound of wal (“whale”) and ros (“horse”). Displaced native Old English horshwæl (literally “horse-whale”). Compare similar constructions in Danish hvalros, Old Norse hrosshvalr, and German Walross.

1

To hunt walruses

  • It's strange to see parties of merrymakers gather where I nearly drowned, and later walrused with David Isaakovich, Father Basil and the rest of them.2016, Andrey Kurkov, The President's Last Love, Kiev, 9 May 1985:

› To be like a walrus

2

To move dragging one's belly along the floor

  • Gaddy walrused herself from the back seat2020, Will Ferguson, The Finder: A Novel:
3

To hang like a walrus's moustache

  • His untrimmed mustache walrused down and over his hidden mouth2000, Michael L. McCoy, The Hunter, the Hound and a Rogue:
4

To be prominent, like tusks

  • Where a mammal had its canine teeth, great fangs walrused down from the grezzen's upper jaw, as long as scimitars and as thick as human thighs.2011, Robert Buettner, Overkill:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.