Where does “whaleling” come from?
whaleling (English) comes from English whale, from Middle English whal, from Old English hwæl, from Proto-West Germanic hwal, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
whaleling (English): A small or young whale
Definitions
- A small or young whale
Ancestry of “whaleling”, step by step
whaleling traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English whale
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | whale | Any of several species of large sea mammals of... |
| 2 | Middle English | whal | A whale or cetacean |
| 3 | Old English | hwæl | a whale |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hwal | whale |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |
via English Ling
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ling | Any of various codlike saltwater fish often used as food by humans, those of the genus Molva, in the family Lotidae |
| 2 | Middle English | ling | Any of various varieties of heather or broom |
| 3 | Old Norse | lyng | heather, ling |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | lingwą | heather, ling |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | lengʷʰom | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lengʷʰ- | light, agile, nimble; light, not heavy, agile,... |