2. Occasioning pain or grief; painful. Their dispatch is quick, and less dolorous than the paw of the bear or teeth of the lion. Dr. H. More. — Dol"or*ous*ly, adv. — Dol"or*ous*ness, n.
DOLPHIN Dol"phin, n. Etym: [F. dauphin dolphin, dauphin, earlier spelt also doffin; cf. OF. dalphinal of the dauphin; fr. L. delphinus, Gr. garbha; perh. akin to E. calf. Cf. Dauphin, Delphine.]
1. (Zool.) (a) A cetacean of the genus Delphinus and allied genera (esp. D. delphis); the true dolphin. (b) The Coryphæna hippuris, a fish of about five feet in length, celebrated for its surprising changes of color when dying. It is the fish commonly known as the dolphin. See Coryphænoid.
Note: The dolphin of the ancients (D. delphis) is common in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and attains a length of from six to eight feet.
2. Etym: [Gr. (Gr. Antiq.)
Defn: A mass of iron or lead hung from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped on the deck of an enemy's vessel.
3. (Naut.) (a) A kind of wreath or strap of plaited cordage. (b) A spar or buoy held by an anchor and furnished with a ring to which ships may fasten their cables. R. H. Dana. (c) A mooring post on a wharf or beach. (d) A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the gunwale. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
4. (Gun.)
Defn: In old ordnance, one of the handles above the trunnions by which the gun was lifted.
5. (Astron.)