Fact 124: Are killer whales actually whales?

Fact 124: Are killer whales actually whales?

Killer Whale or Orca (Orca is its common name, however I will tell you later why this is an ill chosen name). Orcinus orca is its scientific name. Now, interestingly, the killer whale is actually not a whale it is, in fact, a dolphin because killer whales are a part of the Delphinidae family (dolphin family). One of the reasons we call them Killer whales is because of a mistranslation of the Spanish word for a Killer whale, which is ballena asesina this correctly translated means whale killer or actually Whale Murderess however it was incorrectly translated to Killer whale, one of the other reasons we call them Killer whales is because sailors noticed that killer whales, killed whales and so they named them whale killers and the words switched over at some point to Killer Whale. 

Acouding to the NOAA, "Orcas have anywhere form 40 to 56 interlocking teeth each one around three inches long."

The Latin name (and also the Scientific name) for a Killer whale is Orcinus orca because Orcinus was the Roman god of the underworld (Hell) this is also thought to be because the Killer Whale where good at killing other animals, in other words taking the other animals to the underworld.

The Latin word orca is thought to have come from a Greek word ὄρυξ (órux) mean pickaxe, oryx (oryx means iron tool for digging and also means pickaxe, gazelle and antelope) and the word órux also means narwhale (órux Greek word that possibly means pointy).

Orca basically means whale in Latin, so basically, the Romans' word Orcinus orca means god of the underworld whale. My guess is that Orcinus orca probably means god of the underworld for whales or something similar

Orca according to only one article I read apparently means "large-bellied pot or jar," I think it is most likely to have come from the Greek word órux and then Latin for whale and then later on, it might have become a way of saying something looks like an orca because you would be saying it looks like a whale in other words that jar looks like a large pot or jar so lets call it Orca.