Where does “hwælweg” come from?
hwælweg (Old English) comes from Old English hwæl, from Proto-West Germanic hwal, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.
hwælweg (Old English): the ocean
Ancestry of “hwælweg”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | hwæl | a whale |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | hwal | whale |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwalaz | whale, sheatfish |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kʷálos | large fish; sheatfish |