Earliest attested in 16th century. No cognates in related languages, Faroese has already adopted dolfin. Asgeir Blöndal Magnusson estimates correlation with -hafur (Old English hæfer, Latin caper) comparing the leaps of the dolphin to those of the goat. Doubtful. Perhaps simply from haf ("sea") and ungur, that is, Hefring, a Norwegian mountain butting into the sea; and Hefring, daughter of Ægir the sea spirit.
höfrungur m (genitive singular höfrungs, nominative plural höfrungar)
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | höfrungur | höfrungurinn | höfrungar | höfrungarnir |
| accusative | höfrung | höfrunginn | höfrunga | höfrungana |
| dative | höfrungi | höfrungnum | höfrungum | höfrungunum |
| genitive | höfrungs | höfrungsins | höfrunga | höfrunganna |