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

  1. genitive plural of hvalur

Ancestry of “hvala”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Faroesehvalurwhale; cetacean
2Old Norsehvalrwhale
3Proto-Germanichwalazwhale, sheatfish
4Proto-Indo-European(s)kʷáloslarge fish; sheatfish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwalaz →Every word from Old Norse hvalr →