Where does “hvalur” come from?

hvalur (Icelandic) comes from Old Norse hvalr, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.

hvalur (Icelandic): whale

Definitions

  1. whale

Ancestry of “hvalur”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsehvalrwhale
2Proto-Germanichwalazwhale, sheatfish
3Proto-Indo-European(s)kʷáloslarge fish; sheatfish

Words derived from “hvalur”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwalaz →Every word from Old Norse hvalr →