Where does “narval” come from?
narval (French) comes from Danish narhval, from Old Norse hvalr, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
narval (French): narwhal
Ancestry of “narval”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Danish | narhval | narwhal |
| 2 | Old Norse | hvalr | whale |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |