Where does “whale” come from?
Whale comes from Old English hwæl, which derives from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos and the root wel-, meaning to turn or roll.
whale (English): Any of several species of large sea mammals of...
Definitions
- Any of several species of large sea mammals of...
Ancestry of “whale”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | whal | — |
| 2 | Old English | hwæl | a whale |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | hwal | whale |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |
Words derived from “whale”