Where does “hvala” come from?
hvala (Faroese) comes from Faroese hvalur, from Old Norse hvalr, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
hvala (Faroese): genitive plural of hvalur
Definitions
- genitive plural of hvalur
Ancestry of “hvala”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Faroese | hvalur | whale; cetacean |
| 2 | Old Norse | hvalr | whale |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |