Meanings
plural harp seals
- One of species Pagophilus groenlandicus, a true seal (or earless seal) found in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean.
Some people say that harp seals eat too many cod, but humans are the ones who collapsed the Atlantic cod fishery to begin with.
Synonyms: saddleback seal, Phoca groenlandica
Synonyms & antonyms
nounOne of species Pagophilus groenlandicus, a true seal (or earless seal) found in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean.
More synonyms by meaning
nouncommon Arctic seal; the young are all white
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From harp + seal. So called because it has black harp- or wishbone-shaped markings on its back.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian гренландски тюлен
- гренландски тюлен (grenlandski tjulen)a species of seal
Catalan foca de Groenlàndia
- foca de Groenlàndiaa species of seal
Czech tuleň grónský
- tuleň grónskýa species of seal
Dutch zadelrob
- zadelroba species of seal
Finnish grönlanninhylje
- grönlanninhyljea species of seal
French phoque du Groenland
- phoque du Groenlanda species of seal
German Sattelrobbe
- Sattelrobbea species of seal
Hungarian grönlandi fóka
- grönlandi fókaa species of seal
Icelandic vöðuselur
- vöðuselura species of seal
Indonesian anjing laut harpa
- anjing laut harpaa species of seal
Irish rón Graonlannach
- rón Graonlannacha species of seal
Japanese タテゴトアザラシ
- タテゴトアザラシ (tategoto azarashi)a species of seal
Lithuanian grenlandinis ruonis
- grenlandinis ruonisa species of seal
Norwegian grønlandssel
- grønlandssela species of seal
Polish foka grenlandzka, foka siodlasta
- foka grenlandzkaa species of seal
- foka siodlastaa species of seal
- lodofoka grenlandzkaa species of seal
Portuguese foca da Groenlândia
- foca da Groenlândiaa species of seal
Russian гренландский тюле́нь
- гренландский тюле́нь (grenlandskij tjulénʹ)a species of seal
Slovak tuleň grónsky
- tuleň grónskya species of seal
Spanish foca pía, foca de groenlandia
- foca píaa species of seal
- foca de groenlandiaa species of seal
Swedish grönlandssäl
- grönlandssäla species of seal
Thai แมวน้ำลายพิณ
- แมวน้ำลายพิณ (maew náam laai pin)a species of seal
Cite this entry
harp seal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harp%20seal
“harp seal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harp%20seal. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “harp seal,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harp%20seal.
Source: harp seal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.