Where does “spermhval” come from?
spermhval (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Norwegian Bokmål hval, from Danish hval, from Old Norse hvalr, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
spermhval (Norwegian Bokmål): a sperm whale
Ancestry of “spermhval”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Norwegian Bokmål | hval | a whale |
| 2 | Danish | hval | whale |
| 3 | Old Norse | hvalr | whale |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |