"a fin-footed mammal," one having feet like fins or flippers, especially of the group of fin-footed aquatic carnivorous quadruped mammals that includes seals, sea-lions, and walruses, 1842, from Modern Latin Pinnipedia, suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals (seals and walruses), literally "having feet as fins," from Latin pinna in its secondary sense "fin" (see pin (n.)) + pes, genitive pedis "foot" (from PIE root *ped- "foot").