pinniped, a. and n. Zool.
(ˈpɪnɪpɛd)
Also pinnipede, pinnaped.
[ad. mod.L. Pinnipēs (neut. pl. Pinnipedia), L. pinnapēs, pennipēs wing-footed (of Perseus), but used in Zool. in the sense ‘fin-footed’; f. L. pinna in sense ‘fin’ + pes, ped- foot.]
a. adj. Having feet resembling fins, fin-footed; spec. belonging to a suborder (Pinnipedia) of Carnivora, comprising the seals and walruses, which have fin-like limbs or flippers; also, belonging to other divisions of animals having limbs or organs resembling fins and adapted for swimming, e.g. the fin-footed or lobe-footed birds (cf. pinnatiped), certain decapod crustaceans or crabs, the pteropod molluscs, etc. b. n. A pinniped mammal; a seal or walrus.
| 1842 Brande Dict. Sci., etc., Pinnipeds, the name of a section of crabs..that have the last pair of feet..terminated by a flattend joint fitted for swimming. 1858 Mayne Expos. Lex., Pinnipes, adj. Zool...pinnipede. 1866 T. N. Gill (title) Prodrome of a Monograph of Pinnipeds. 1881 Athenæum 17 Dec. 807/3 The various species of Hæmatopinus with which the seals, like the other pinnipeds, are annoyed. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 194 Charts shewing distribution of the pinnapeds of the world. |
So pinnipedian (-ˈpiːdɪən) a. = prec. a.
| 1880 Standard 20 May 3 It is doubtful whether the close⁓time agreement..will have any great effect on the longevity of the pinnipedian race. |