marsuíno

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French marsouin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *mariswīną (“dolphin, porpoise”). By surface analysis, mar (“sea”) +‎ suíno (“swine”).

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /maʁ.suˈĩ.nu/ [mah.sʊˈĩ.nu], (faster pronunciation) /maʁˈswĩ.nu/ [mahˈswĩ.nu]
- (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /maɾ.suˈĩ.nu/ [maɾ.sʊˈĩ.nu], (faster pronunciation) /maɾˈswĩ.nu/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /maʁ.suˈĩ.nu/ [maχ.sʊˈĩ.nu], (faster pronunciation) /maʁˈswĩ.nu/ [maχˈswĩ.nu]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /maɻ.suˈi.no/ [maɻ.sʊˈi.no], (faster pronunciation) /maɻˈswi.no/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐɾˈswi.nu/

Rhymes: (Brazil) -ĩnu, (Portugal) -inu
Hyphenation: mar‧su‧í‧no

Noun

marsuíno m (plural marsuínos)

porpoise (cetacean species of the family Phocoenidae)
Synonym: toninha

Further reading

“marsuíno”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
“marsuíno”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025