monodonn.
/ˈmɒnədɒn/, /ˈmɒnəd(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈmɑnəˌdɑn/ Zoology.
Originally: the narwhal, Monodon monoceros. Now (in form Monodon): the monotypic genus (family Monodontidae) that comprises the narwhal.Valid publication of the genus name: Linnaeus Systema Naturæ (ed. 10, 1758) I. 75.
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the world > animals > mammals > order Cetacea (whales) > suborder Odontoceti > [noun] > family Monodontidae > genus Monodon (narwhal)
monoceros1590
sea-unicorn1646
narwhal1650
unicorn whale1668
seahorse1674
unicorn-fish1688
unicorn1694
monodon1752
unicorn narwhal1813
unie1874
sea-monoceros-
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 314 Monodon, the Unicorn-fish, or Nar-wal.
c1865 H. Letheby in J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. 103/2 Even the Monodons or nar-whales may be made to yield train-oil.
1871 S. F. Baird in C. H. Davis Narr. N. Polar Exped. (U.S. Naval Observatory) (1876) 653 [Specimens of] the Phoca cristata, the white whale (Beluga), and the Monodon are particularly desired.
1978 Ann. Rev. Ecol. & Systematics 9 553 It [sc. the ‘adipose cushion’] is moderately developed in the dolphins, Tursiops and Delphinus, large in the Narwhal, Monodon, and huge in the pilot whale, Globicephala.
1994 Proc. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. No. 29. 77 The toothlessness of V. chulavistensis is unique among known pinnipeds but parallels the condition seen in modern suction-feeding beaked whales (family Ziphiidae) and the narwhal (Monodon).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1752