delphin

See also: Delphin

English

Alternative forms

• delphine

Etymology

From Latin delphinus (“a dolphin”) +‎ -in.

Noun

delphin (plural delphins)

1. Obsolete spelling of dolphin (“animal”)
   • 1896, The New York Polyclinic, volumes 7-8, page 193:

     DELPHIN OIL IN THE TREATMENT OF ACNE. — Dr. Bæck (Annales de Dermatologie) says that delphin oil inhibits the growth of bacteria in the skin […]

Latin

Etymology

Unassimilated borrowing of Ancient Greek δελφίν (delphín). See delphīnus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈdɛɫ.pʰiːn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈdɛl.fin]

Noun

delphīn m (genitive delphīnis); third declension

1. alternative form of delphīnus (“dolphin”)
2. Delphinus the Dolphin (constellation)
   • 8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 6.471–472:

     nāvita puppe sedēns ‘Delphīna vidēbimus,’ inquit
     ‘hūmida cum pulsō nox erit orta diē.’

     [...] the sailor, sitting in the stern, says: “We shall see the Dolphin, when the humid night shall have risen, having driven out the day.”
     (See: Delphinus.)

Declension

Third-declension noun (Greek-type, normal variant or non-Greek-type).

	singular	plural
nominative	delphīn	delphīnes delphīnēs
genitive	delphīnos delphīnis	delphīnum
dative	delphīnī	delphīnibus
accusative	delphīna delphīnem	delphīnas delphīnēs
ablative	delphīne	delphīnibus
vocative	delphīn	delphīnes delphīnēs

In Classical Latin, Greek endings were used in the nominative and accusative cases. The genitive singular, dative singular and dative/ablative plural are not attested.

References

• “delphinus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “delphin”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Noun

delphin

1. alternative form of delphyn