walrus
n.n. a large, heavy animal with a thick body and long tusks. It lives in cold ocean waters and eats fish and sea plants.
n. a large, thick-skinned marine mammal of the family Phocidae, characterized by long tusks and a prominent mustache of whiskers.
The walrus swims slowly through the icy water.
During the summer months, the walrus spends much of its time on the rocky shores of the Arctic.
The walrus is a keystone species in the Arctic ecosystem, playing a vital role in the local food chain by controlling the population of benthic invertebrates.
Probably borrowed from Dutch walrus, a compound of wal (“whale”) and ros (“horse”). Displaced native Old English horshwæl (literally “horse-whale”). Compare similar constructions in Danish hvalros, Old Norse hrosshvalr, and German Walross.