orca

[ awr-kuh ]

noun

1. the killer whale, Orcinus orca.

orca

/ ˈɔːkə /

noun

1. a killer whale

Word History and Origins

Origin of orca¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin, former taxonomic name, from Latin, a kind of whale, perhaps a grampus, from Greek óryga (accusative of óryx ), a kind of large fish, perhaps a narwhal. The g became c under the influence of Latin orca, a kind of large earthenware vessel with a narrow neck; orc

Word History and Origins

Origin of orca¹

C20: Latin

Example Sentences

In July, 15 tribal nations came together on the Squaxin Island reservation in Washington State to discuss how they can help the Pacific Northwest wild salmon and the orca that rely on it to survive.

From Time

Leg-burning descents are punctuated with incredible wildlife experiences, like spotting breaching orcas as you carve from summit to sea.

From Outside Online

The orcas have been suffering from starvation, ocean noise, and pollution.

From Popular-Science

They found that individuals were spending more time interacting with others of the same sex and of similar age, with younger orcas and female orcas displaying the most robust social lives.

From Popular-Science

Within orca families, individuals live nearly five times longer if grandmothers are present.

From Time

The killer app, code-named Orca, transmogrified into a beached whale on election day.

From The Daily Beast

Why did Tilikum, the highly intelligent, 12,000 pound Orca, kill his trainer?

From The Daily Beast

On Election Day, Team Romney deployed ORCA, a failed, bloated and beached technology.

From The Daily Beast

But he's right to assert the GOP's problem is deeper than ORCA and social media.

From The Daily Beast

But one new fashion site uses just that—an orca whale—to model its clothes.

From The Daily Beast

One night the captain's boat was attacked by a species of fish known as a "killer" (Orca), and its bows were stove in.

From Project Gutenberg

It may be that he imagined Ramiro del' Orca to be acting under Cesare's instructions.

From Project Gutenberg

A truly terrible toothed whale is the large porpoise called the killer (known to zoologists as Orca gladiator).

From Project Gutenberg

Cranial and dental characters generally like those of Orca, except that the roots of the teeth are cylindrical.

From Project Gutenberg

One kind alone (Orca) eats other warm-blooded animals, as seals, and even members of its own order, both large and small.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• mammal
• porpoise