orca

See also: Orca and orça

English

Orcas

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin orca (“tun, cask; whale”), see there for more. Although the origin is obscure, the sometimes-cited association with orcus (“underworld”) is folk-etymology. Doublet of orc.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈoɹkə/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːkə/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)kə

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

orca (plural orcas or orca)

1. A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.

   Synonyms: blackfish, grampus, killer, killer whale, (archaic) orc

   • 1876, Alexander Schultz, “Account of the Fisheries and Seal-Hunting in the White Sea, the Arctic Ocean, and the Caspian Sea”, in United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Part III. Report of the Commissioner for 1873-4 and 1874-5., Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, page 55:

     In the summer, when the weather is calm and beautiful, large flocks of orcæ can be seen approaching the shallow places near the shore, or between the numerous islands of the White Sea. Several fishermen associate for hunting orcæ, each one furnishing a boat, and a large seine made of cords of the thickness of a finger, the meshes being 10½ inches square.

Derived terms

• orcalike
• Southern resident orca

Translations

Orcinus orca — see also killer whale

• Afrikaans: moordvis, orka
• Ainu: レプンカムイ (repun-kamuy), カムイフㇺベ (kamuy-humbe)
• Arabic: حُوت قَاتِل m (ḥūt qātil)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Assamese: অৰকা (oroka)
• Asturian: orca (ast), esperlón (ast)
• Belarusian: каса́тка f (kasátka)
• Bulgarian: коса́тка (bg) f (kosátka)
• Catalan: orca (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 逆戟鯨 / 逆戟鲸 (zh) (nìjǐjīng), 虎鯨 / 虎鲸 (zh) (hǔjīng), 殺人鯨 / 杀人鲸 (zh) (shārénjīng)

• Czech: kosatka (cs) f
• Danish: spækhugger (da) c
• Dutch: orka (nl) m, zwaardwalvis (nl) m
• Esperanto: orko, granda orcino
• Faroese: bóghvítuhvalur (fo) m, mastrarhvalur m, mastrarfiskur m, æðuhvalur m, rovhvalur m, steyrhvalur m
• Finnish: miekkavalas (fi)
• French: épaulard (fr) m, orque (fr) f
• Galician: candorca (gl) f, alcandorca (gl) f
• German: Schwertwal (de) m, Mörderwal m, Killerwal (de) m
• Haida: sg̱aana (Queen Charlotte Islands)
• Hungarian: kardszárnyú delfin (hu), orka (hu), gyilkos bálna (hu)
• Icelandic: háhyrningur (is) m
• Ido: orko
• Indonesian: seguni
• Inuktitut: ᐋᕐᓗᒃ (aarlok)
• Italian: orca (it) f
• Japanese: 鯱 (ja) (しゃち, shachi), さかまた (ja) (逆叉, sakamata)
• Korean: 범고래 (ko) (beomgorae)
• Kwak'wala: ^{(please verify)} max'inux (Northern Vancouver Island)
• Latvian: zobenvalis m
• Lushootseed: qal'qaləχʷič
• Macedonian: косатка f (kosatka)
• Māori: maki, kākahi
• Marathi: हिंसक देवमासा m (hiusak devmāsā), ऑर्का m (ŏrkā)
• Nahuatl: hueyimichtecuani
• Neapolitan: ncroja f
• Norwegian: spekkhogger m

  Nynorsk: spekkhoggar (nn) m

• Nuxalk: syut
• Okinawan: 鯱 (さち, sachi)
• Old Norse: vagna
• Persian: ارکا (orkâ)
• Polish: orka (pl) f, miecznik (pl) m
• Portuguese: orca (pt) f
• Romanian: orca (ro) f
• Russian: коса́тка (ru) f (kosátka), каса́тка (ru) f (kasátka), кит-уби́йца m (kit-ubíjca)
• Sami:

  Kildin Sami: воа̄кань (vååkan’)

• Scottish Gaelic: cana (gd) m, mada-chuain m
• Slovak: kosatka (sk) f
• Spanish: orca (es) f, orco (es) m, urca (es) f
• Swedish: späckhuggare (sv) c
• Thai: วาฬเพชฌฆาต (waan-pét-chá-kâat)
• Tlingit: kéet
• Turkish: katil balina
• Ukrainian: коса́тка f (kosátka)
• Vietnamese: cá voi sát thủ (vi), cá kình (vi), cá hổ kình
• Yámana: shamanaj

See also

• ork, orc

Anagrams

• ocra, acro-, arco, acro, Caro, AOCR, CRAO, Roca, RAOC, Cora, Arco

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin orca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈo̞r.kə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [ˈɔr.kə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈɔɾ.ka]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ˈɔr.ka]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

orca f (plural orques)

1. orca

Further reading

• “orca”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Galician

Etymology

Derived from Latin orca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔɾka/ [ˈɔɾ.kɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɔɾka
• Hyphenation: or‧ca

Noun

orca f (plural orcas)

1. orca, killer whale

   Synonym: candorca

Further reading

• “orca”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Hungarian

FWOTD – 4 November 2015

Etymology

A compound of orr (“nose”) +‎ száj (“mouth”) → orrszáj, transformed to orca over the centuries.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈort͡sɒ]
• Hyphenation: or‧ca
• Rhymes: -t͡sɒ

Noun

orca (plural orcák)

1. (archaic) cheek

   Holonym: (face) arc

   • 1844, Sándor Petőfi, translated by John Ridland, János vitéz‎^[2], chapter 4, stanza 5, lines 1-2:

     „Hej, Iluskám! hogyne volnék én halovány, / Mikor szép orcádat utószor látom tán…”

     “Oh, Nelly love! How could I help but look white, / When your lovely face soon will be torn from my sight…”

   • 1872, Mór Jókai, Az arany ember^[3] (Timar’s Two Worlds),^[4] part 1, chapter 2, translated by Mrs. Hegan Kennard:

     A kormányos ölnyi termetű kemény férfi volt, erősen rezes arcszínnel, a két orcáján a pirosság vékony hajszálerek szövevényében fejezte ki magát, miktől a szeme fehére is recés volt.

     The steersman is a six-foot weather-beaten sailor with a very red face, whose color on both cheeks comes from a network of veins with which the white of the eye is also transfused.

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	orca	orcák
accusative	orcát	orcákat
dative	orcának	orcáknak
instrumental	orcával	orcákkal
causal-final	orcáért	orcákért
translative	orcává	orcákká
terminative	orcáig	orcákig
essive-formal	orcaként	orcákként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	orcában	orcákban
superessive	orcán	orcákon
adessive	orcánál	orcáknál
illative	orcába	orcákba
sublative	orcára	orcákra
allative	orcához	orcákhoz
elative	orcából	orcákból
delative	orcáról	orcákról
ablative	orcától	orcáktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	orcáé	orcáké
non-attributive possessive – plural	orcáéi	orcákéi

Possessive forms of orca

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	orcám	orcáim
2nd person sing.	orcád	orcáid
3rd person sing.	orcája	orcái
1st person plural	orcánk	orcáink
2nd person plural	orcátok	orcáitok
3rd person plural	orcájuk	orcáik

Derived terms

• orcátlan

Compound words

• álorca

Further reading

• orca in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish orca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔɾˠkə/

Noun

orca f (genitive singular orcan, nominative plural oircne)

1. (literary) calf (of leg)

   Synonyms: colpa, pluc

Declension

Declension of orca (irregular)

bare forms singular plural nominative orca oircne vocative a orca a oircne genitive orcan orcan dative orca orcain (archaic, dialectal) oircne forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an orca na hoircne genitive na horcan na n-orcan dative leis an orca leis an orcain (archaic, dialectal) don orca don orcain (archaic, dialectal) leis na hoircne

Mutation

Mutated forms of orca

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
orca	n-orca	horca	not applicable

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “orca”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “orca”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “orca”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “orca”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin orca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔr.ka/
• Rhymes: -ɔrka
• Hyphenation: òr‧ca

Noun

orca f (plural orche)

1. killer whale; orca

   Synonym: balena assassina

   • 1516, Ludovico Ariosto, “Canto decimo [Canto 10]”, in Orlando Furioso [Raging Roland]‎^[5], Venice: Gabriel Giolito, published 1551, page 41:

     Vi fu legata pur quella mattina,
     Dove venia per trangughiarla viva
     Quel smisurato Mostro Orca marina,
     che di abhorrevole esca si nutriva

     That morning, she was tied up there, where that enormous monster, marine orca, feeding on horrible bait, was coming to swallow her alive

   • 1619, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, La fiera‎^[6], published 1726, page 198:

     Per quelle cave algose,
     Preda d’orche voraci, e d’onde avare

     Through those caves filled with seaweeds, prey to voracious orcas, and ungenerous waves

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch hulk.

Alternative forms

• urca, ulca

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈor.ka/
• Rhymes: -orka
• Hyphenation: ór‧ca

Noun

orca f (plural orche)

1. (nautical, historical) hulk (large ship used for transportation)

Further reading

• “orca¹”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026
• “orca²”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Anagrams

• acro, acro-, arco, arcò, caro, ocra, roca

Latin

Etymology

Either borrowed from Ancient Greek ὕρχη (húrkhē, “earthen fish-salting vessel”), or else both borrowed separately from a substrate Mediterranean language. The sense of whale is likely influenced by ὄρυξ (órux, “pickaxe; oryx; narwhal”); it is possible that both ὕρχη (húrkhē) and ὄρυξ (órux) were conflated when borrowed into Latin.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɔr.ka]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɔr.ka]

Noun

orca f (genitive orcae); first declension

1. orc, orca (kind of whale)
2. butt, tun (large-bellied vessel)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	orca	orcae
genitive	orcae	orcārum
dative	orcae	orcīs
accusative	orcam	orcās
ablative	orcā	orcīs
vocative	orca	orcae

Derived terms

• urceus

Descendants

• Catalan: orca
• Galician: orca
• Italian: orca
• Middle French: orque f
  • French: orque f
  • → English: orc
• Portuguese: orca
• Romanian: orca
• Spanish: orca
• → Dutch: orka
• → English: orca
  • → Cebuano: orca
• → German: Orca
• → Polish: orka, órka (Central Greater Poland)
  • → Kashubian: órka
• → Proto-West Germanic: *ork (see there for further descendants)
• → Serbo-Croatian:
  • Cyrillic script: орца
  • Latin script: orka
• → Translingual: Orca (learned)

Further reading

• “orca”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “orca”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "orca", 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)
• “orca”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “orca”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “orca”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin orca (“tun, cask; whale”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɔʁ.kɐ/ [ˈɔh.kɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɔʁ.kɐ/ [ˈɔh.kɐ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɾ.kɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈɔʁ.kɐ/ [ˈɔχ.kɐ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɻ.kɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɾ.kɐ/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɔʁkɐ, (Portugal) -ɔɾkɐ
• Hyphenation: or‧ca

Noun

orca f (plural orcas)

1. orca (Orcinus orca)

   Synonym: baleia-assassina

Further reading

• “orca”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “orca”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “orca”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “orca”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Derived from Latin orca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoɾka/ [ˈoɾ.ka]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾka
• Syllabification: or‧ca
• Homophone: horca

Noun

orca f (plural orcas, masculine orco, masculine plural orcos)

1. orca, killer whale

   Synonym: ballena asesina

Further reading

• “orca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Anagrams

• arco, caro, cora, raco, roca