sea horse

Definition

Any of the small marine fish of the genus Hippocampus that have a horselike head and swim upright.

Etymology

From Middle English sehors (“walrus”), equivalent to sea + horse. Probably a calque of obsolete French cheval de mer or directly of Late Latin caballus marinus.

Example Sentences

• "One morning we had vast quantities of sea-horses about the ship, which neighed exactly like any other horses."
• "Instead, it seems to be a unique case that ends in the tail of a hippocamp or seahorse, although with one fin now missing. Ultimately, the form might have been inspired by bent-leg vases produced in Greece."
• "As most authors mention the hippopotamus under the names of the sea-horse, or the sea-cow, he has sometimes been confounded with the latter, which inhabits only the northern seas."