Etymology

phocine

P3H4O1C3I1N1E1

Today it means: Pertaining to true seals (also known as earless seals, as opposed to eared seals such as sea lions); seallike. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Latin phōca ← Ancient Greek φώκη
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromφώκη
  2. Latin · derived fromphōca“seal”
  3. English todayphocine

From Latin phōca (“seal”) (from Ancient Greek φώκη (phṓkē)) + -ine.

Words from the same roots

Latinphōca all →

phoca

Ancient Greekφώκη all →

phocaphocomelia

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. Pertaining to true seals (also known as earless seals, as opposed to eared seals such as sea lions); seallike.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.