Talk:dolphin

RFV discussion: November–December 2021
rfv-sense: A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the gunwale. MooreDoor (talk) 15:16, 22 November 2021 (UTC)


 * seems to find a decent number of hits. Apparently you can even buy them off Ebay.  ‑‑ Eiríkr Útlendi │Tala við mig 01:11, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * There are multiple maritime senses of dolphin. Reviewing the searches you proffered, I have not yet found one that supports the challenged definition. I've had trouble finding evidence for the particular one being challenged when I ran similar searches. That's why it's a good if we actually insert particular cites under the challenged definition, so that critics can evaluate their unambiguous support of the definition.
 * I can't find an online copy of Hamersly’s Naval Encyclopedia, apparently a definitive US maritime reference of the late 19th century. It might help clarify this definition and those of other older maritime terms. DCDuring (talk) 17:26, 24 November 2021 (UTC)
 * The definition is taken by Webster 1913 verbatim from Hamersly 1881-4. DCDuring (talk) 17:49, 24 November 2021 (UTC)

Most of what I found is the pile or mooring post that one docks to, but I managed to cite this. Kiwima (talk) 17:27, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Hamersly has dolphin-striker as "A short perpendicular spar under the bowsprit, giving spread to the upper head-stays." That wouldn't be going all the way "around a heavy boat" or even over most of the sides. So two of the cites don't support the challenged sense. DCDuring (talk) 18:40, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that . I went back and did more searching. I couldn't find anything other than the one quote for a fender below the gunwale, but there is a similar structure called a dolphin on other constructions, such as bridges or piers, which I added. I wonder if the challenged definition is just the boat version of this other dolphin. Kiwima (talk) 20:52, 27 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I would have thought that the terminology went from marine (vessel) to other senses. Frankly the definition under challenge seems more reminiscent of dolphins swimming next to a vessel than any of the other definitions. But, if we can't find the cites, then our last, best hopes are that the OED has cites we can use or that we find a way of searching marine libraries that have works of the 19th century and earlier. DCDuring (talk) 21:26, 28 November 2021 (UTC)
 * OED doesn't have much (sense 6b). This, that and the other (talk) 01:39, 6 December 2021 (UTC)
 * About all I can do is merge the definition with the fender on a structure. Kiwima (talk) 21:07, 6 December 2021 (UTC)

RFV-resolved Kiwima (talk) 20:11, 22 December 2021 (UTC)