Phrase guide

harp seal

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈhɑɹp.siːl/
  • /ˈhɑːp.siːl/

1

noun

Meaning 1

One of species Pagophilus groenlandicus, a true seal (or earless seal) found in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Some people say that harp seals eat too many cod, but humans are the ones who collapsed the Atlantic cod fishery to begin with.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: saddleback seal, Phoca groenlandica

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: true seal, earless seal, phocid, seal, pinniped, marine mammal, mammal, vertebrate, animal, organism

2

noun

Meaning 2

common Arctic seal; the young are all white

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Pagophilus groenlandicus

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: earless seal, true seal, hair seal

History

Etymology

From harp + seal. So called because it has black harp- or wishbone-shaped markings on its back.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: гренландски тюлен (grenlandski tjulen) — a species of seal
  • Catalan: foca de Groenlàndia — a species of seal
  • Czech: tuleň grónský — a species of seal
  • Dutch: zadelrob — a species of seal
  • Faroese: grønlandskópur — a species of seal
  • Finnish: grönlanninhylje — a species of seal
  • French: phoque du Groenland — a species of seal
  • Georgian: გრენლანდიური სელაპი (grenlandiuri selaṗi) — a species of seal
  • German: Sattelrobbe — a species of seal
  • Greenlandic: aataaq — a species of seal
  • Hungarian: grönlandi fóka — a species of seal
  • Icelandic: vöðuselur — a species of seal
  • Irish: rón Graonlannach — a species of seal
  • Japanese: タテゴトアザラシ (tategoto azarashi) — a species of seal
  • Lithuanian: grenlandinis ruonis — a species of seal
  • Norwegian: grønlandssel — a species of seal
  • Polish: foka grenlandzka — a species of seal
  • Polish: foka siodlasta — a species of seal
  • Polish: lodofoka grenlandzka — a species of seal
  • Portuguese: foca da Groenlândia — a species of seal
  • Russian: гренландский тюле́нь (grenlandskij tjulénʹ) — a species of seal
  • Slovak: tuleň grónsky — a species of seal
  • Spanish: foca pía — a species of seal
  • Spanish: foca de groenlandia — a species of seal
  • Swedish: grönlandssäl — a species of seal
  • Thai: แมวน้ําลายพิณ (maew náam laai pin) — a species of seal