walrus

[ wawl-ruhs, wol- ]

noun

, plural wal·rus·es, (especially collectively) wal·rus.

1. a large marine mammal, Odobenus nosmarus, of Arctic seas, related to the seals, and having flippers, a pair of large tusks, and a tough, wrinkled skin.

walrus

/ ˈwɔːlrəs; ˈwɒl- /

noun

1. a pinniped mammal, Odobenus rosmarus, of northern seas, having a tough thick skin, upper canine teeth enlarged as tusks, and coarse whiskers and feeding mainly on shellfish: family Odobenidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of walrus¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from Dutch: literally, “whale horse”; cognate with German Walross, Danish hvalros; compare Old English horshwæl “horse-whale”

Word History and Origins

Origin of walrus¹

C17: probably from Dutch, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hrosshvalr (literally: horse whale) and Old English horschwæl; see horse , whale

Example Sentences

Human disturbances can trigger deadly stampedes and lead to high walrus mortality.

From Science News

Desperate polar bears may increasingly attack walruses, but “there are limitations to how many walruses an adult bear can take down,” says coauthor Kristin Laidre, an Arctic ecologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

From Science News

This review suggests that tool use in wild polar bears, though infrequent, does occur in the case of hunting walruses because of their large size, the researchers report in the June Arctic.

From Science News

The region was once known to scientists as the “last ice area” for its thick, year-round plates of ice critical for the survival of polar bears, seals and walruses.

From Time

Her work has appeared in The Walrus, Toronto Life, Hazlitt, This, and The Guardian.

From The Daily Beast

The skin of the walrus is an inch thick, wrinkled, and covered with very short hair of different colours.

From Project Gutenberg

The walrus is easily distinguished by its long tusks, a character which we find peculiar to that and the elephant.

From Project Gutenberg

We have only seen two heads on this subject, which resembled that of the walrus more than any other animal.

From Project Gutenberg

Like the kayaks, it was covered with seal-skin; or perhaps it might have been the hide of the walrus.

From Project Gutenberg

We then took the captain with us to see their huts and our walrus-skin tent.

From Project Gutenberg

What Is The Plural Of Walrus?

Plural word for walrus

The plural form of walrus is walruses.  The plurals of several other singular words ending in -us are also formed in this way, such as virus/viruses, sinus/sinuses, and syllabus/syllabuses.

In some words derived from Latin that end in -us, the irregular plural ending -i may be used instead, as in fungus/fungi and cactus/cacti. However, this ending is not valid for walrus. Walri would be an invalid plural form for walrus.

More About Walrus

Where does the word walrus come from?

The walrus is, no doubt, a funny-looking animal. It’s got a droopy, hangdog kind of face, grumpy-old-man whiskers, and two ludicrous-looking tusks. (No offense to any walruses who may be reading this.)

So, it seems fitting that walrus also has a funny origin story: it may literally mean “whale-horse.” Well, that’s a theory.

The origins of the word walrus are disputed. In fact, the writer of the famous Lord of the Rings books, J. R. R. Tolkien, came up with no fewer than six different possible origins of the word.

Anyway, even if it’s not entirely true, the story goes that walrus comes from Dutch. Walvis means “whale” and ros means “horse.” Combine it all together and a walrus is a “whale-horse.” Which, if you look at this wonderful animal, seems like a fitting name for it.

The roots of these other words may get a rise—of laughter or surprise—out of you too. Run on over to our roundup of them at “Weird Word Origins That Will Make Your Family Laugh.”

Did you know … ?

• The walrus’s tusks aren’t just for show: they use them to fend off predators, and the top males are the ones with the longest tusks.
  • You can even tell how old a walrus is based on its tusks.
• Walrus tusks also help tell them apart from the similar animals of seals and sea lions, if these groups of animals confuse you.
• The word walrus only has one L and one S, so watch out for misspelling it as “wallrus” or “walruss.”
  The walrus’s whiskers are so memorable that a person with a droopy moustache is said to have a walrus moustache.

The wal– in walrus shares a background with the whal– in narwhal, an animal that the walrus often shares a habitat with. The wal- in walrus is also related to the word whale, another marine mammal.