yunus

Meaning

dolphin

Pronounced as (IPA)

/juˈnus/

Etymology

Clipping of yunus balığı (literally “Jonah fish”) after the story of the Qur'anic prophet Jonah. Compare Arabic ذو النون (literally “The One of the Fish”), an epithet for Jonah. The form yunusbalığı is preserved in the Turkish name yunusbalığıgiller, used alongside yunusgiller for the dolphin family (Delphinidae).