sealion
sealion Lexical Profile
sealion Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An alternative closed-compound spelling of sea lion: a large, eared marine mammal of the family Otariidae native to coastal waters of the Pacific and Southern Oceans, characterized by external ear flaps and long foreflippers used to walk on land.
"A large sealion basked on the sunny rocks near the harbor."
• verb
To harass or pester someone (especially in online discussions) by persistently demanding evidence or answers to disingenuous questions while maintaining a pretense of civility and sincerity.
"The forum moderators banned the user after he began to sealion several participants in the comment thread."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the marine mammal, the open compound 'sea lion' is standard, whereas the closed form 'sealion' is predominantly used for the internet slang verb meaning to harass someone with disingenuous questions.
Word Origin & Etymology
The verb sense originated in 2014 from a satirical webcomic by David Malki titled 'Wondermark', in which a literal sea lion intrusively follows a person around demanding polite debate.