Editing Dolphin (section)

==Etymology==
The name is originally from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|δελφίς}} (''delphís''), "dolphin",<ref name=Liddel>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Ddelfi%2Fs|title=δελφίς |first1=Henry George|last1=Liddell|first2=Robert|last2=Scott|work=A Greek-English Lexicon|publisher=Perseus Digital Library}}</ref> which was related to the Greek {{lang|grc|δελφύς}} (''delphus''), "womb".<ref name=Liddel/> The animal's name can therefore be interpreted as meaning "a 'fish' with a womb".<ref>{{cite book
|title=Dolphin
|series=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
|edition=Fourth
|publisher=[[Reference.com|Dictionary.com]]
|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Dolphin
|access-date= December 17, 2006}}</ref> The name was transmitted via the [[Latin]] ''delphinus''<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Ddelphinus| title = delphinus, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, ''A Latin Dictionary'', on Perseus Digital Library}}</ref> (the [[romanization]] of the later Greek δελφῖνος – ''delphinos''<ref name=Liddel/>), which in [[Medieval Latin]] became {{Lang|la-x-medieval|dolfinus}} and in [[Old French]] ''daulphin'', which reintroduced the ''ph'' into the word ''dolphin''. The term ''mereswine'' ("sea pig") is also used.<ref name="c959">{{cite news| title=Killer Zionist dolphins? Hamas claims they exist | website= The Jerusalem Post | date=January 11, 2022 | url=https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-692167 | access-date=May 9, 2024}}</ref><ref name="l962">{{cite web | last=Caracciolo | first=Frankie | title=Biology Says It Sucks to Be This Rare Albino Dolphin | website=Inverse | date=June 19, 2017 | url=https://www.inverse.com/science/33125-rare-albino-dolphin-kate-risso-moby-dick | access-date=May 9, 2024}}</ref>

{{anchor|Definition}}
The term ''dolphin'' can be used to refer to most species in the family [[Delphinidae]] (oceanic dolphins) and the river dolphin families of [[Iniidae]] (South American river dolphins), Pontoporiidae ([[La Plata dolphin]]), [[Lipotidae]] (Yangtze river dolphin) and [[Platanistidae]] (Ganges river dolphin and Indus river dolphin).<ref>{{cite book|title=Aquatic Life of the World|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=p5IiaOb5XxgC|page=652}}|access-date=July 23, 2013|date=November 1, 2000|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7170-7|page=652}}</ref><ref name="Walker2007"/> Meanwhile, the [[mahi-mahi]] fish is called the dolphinfish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coryphaena hippurus|url=http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=6|work=FishBase|access-date=January 15, 2016}}</ref> In common usage, the term ''whale'' is used only for the larger cetacean species,<ref name="Leatherwood1988">{{cite book|author=Stephen Leatherwood|title=Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Eastern North Pacific and Adjacent Arctic Waters: A Guide to Their Identification|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=LpMxr35NBCcC|page=6}}|access-date=July 23, 2013|year=1988|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=978-0-486-25651-1|page=6}}</ref> while the smaller ones with a beaked or longer nose are considered dolphins.<ref name="Hirschi2002">{{cite book|author=Ron Hirschi|title=Dolphins|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=GnBz5ygfUKwC|page=7}}|access-date=July 23, 2013|date=April 2002|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-1443-8|page=7}}</ref> The name ''dolphin'' is used casually as a synonym for [[bottlenose dolphin]], the most common and familiar species of dolphin.<ref name="NowacekNowacek2006">{{cite book|author1=Stephanie Nowacek|author2=Douglas Nowacek|title=Discovering Dolphins|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=PF8LlgiRUMIC|page=5}}|access-date=July 23, 2013|year=2006|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=978-0-7603-2561-2|pages=5, 9}}</ref> There are six species of dolphins commonly thought of as whales, collectively known as [[blackfish]]: the [[orca]], the [[melon-headed whale]], the [[pygmy killer whale]], the [[false killer whale]], and the two species of [[pilot whale]]s, all of which are classified under the family Delphinidae and qualify as dolphins.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Leatherwood|first1=S.|last2=Prematunga|first2=W.P.|last3=Girton|first3=P.|last4=McBrearty|first4=D.|last5=Ilangakoon|first5 =A.|last6=McDonald| first6=D|title=''Records of 'blackfish' (killer, false killer, pilot, pygmy killer, and melon-headed whales) in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary, 1772–1986 in'' Cetaceans and cetacean research in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary|pages=33–65|year=1991|publisher=UNEP Marine Mammal Technical Report |asin=B00KX9I8Y8}}</ref> Although the terms ''dolphin'' and ''porpoise'' are sometimes used interchangeably, ''porpoise'' usually refers to the Phocoenidae family, which have a shorter beak and spade-shaped teeth and differ in their behavior.<ref name="NowacekNowacek2006"/>

A group of dolphins is called a ''school'' or a ''pod''. Male dolphins are called ''bulls'', females are called ''cows'' and young dolphins are called ''calves''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Style guide, animal names |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/styleguide/animal.html |publisher=[[Reference.com|Dictionary.com]] |access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114065446/http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/styleguide/animal.html |archive-date=November 14, 2007 }}</ref>