Seehund

Meaning

1. (masculine, strong) common seal, harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
2. (broadly, masculine, strong) any seal

Concepts

seal

🦭

harbour seal

common seal

harbor seal

seals

spotted seal

Seehund

Callorhinus

Halichoerus

whiskery harbour seal

earless seal

Pacific harbor seal

fur seal

Phoca

true seal

hair seal

Synonyms

Robbe

🦭

Pummel

Callorhinus

Halichörus

Phoca

gemeiner Seehund

Translations

foca

🦭

foca

🦭

zeehond

🦭

phoque

🦭

foca

rob

🦭

zeerob

fok

🦭

phoca

🦭

φώκια

foca

phoque commun

Phoca vitulina

foca marina

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈzeːˌhʊnt]

Etymology

Cognate with English: seal

Cognate with Northern Frisian: selich

Cognate with Danish: sæl

Cognate with Dutch: zeehond

In summary

15th century, alteration of Seelhund, explanatory compound from now obsolete Seel (“seal”) + Hund (“dog”). The first component seems to have been inherited from Middle High German sele, seleh, from Old High German selah, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (“seal”). For natural reasons it was a rare word, however, and was later reinforced by cognate Middle Low German sēl, also sēlhunt. Cognate with English seal, North Frisian selich, seel, Danish sæl. Ultimately reinterpreted as See (“sea”) + Hund (“dog”); compare the same in Dutch zeehond.