Note 2 — PETER KALM’s TRAVELS. (continued 5)
Johann Reinhold Forster translation
The name of Porpesse is certainly derived from the name Porcopesce, given to this genus by the Italians; and it is remarkable that almost all the European nations conspired in calling them Sea-hogs, their name being in German Meer Schwein; the Danish, Swedish, and Norvegian, Marsuin, from whence the French borrowed their Marsouin. The natives of Iceland call them Suinhual, i.e. a Swine-whale, and so likewise the Slavonian nations have their Swinia Morskaya. Whether this consent arises from their rooting the sand at the bottom of the sea in quest of Sand-eels and Sea-worms like swine, or from the vast quantity of lard surrounding their bodies is uncertain. F. ↑