Where does “náhvalr” come from?

náhvalr (Old Norse) comes from Old Norse Nár, from Proto-Germanic nawiz, from Proto-Indo-European neh₂wis, from Proto-Indo-European neh₂u-, from Proto-Indo-European néh₂us, from Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₂- — to swim; to float.

náhvalr (Old Norse): corpse whale

Definitions

  1. corpse whale

Ancestry of “náhvalr”, step by step

náhvalr traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Norse Nár

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old NorseNárname of a dwarf
2Proto-Germanicnawizcorpse
3Proto-Indo-Europeanneh₂wiscorpse
4Proto-Indo-Europeanneh₂u-death; death; corpse; ship, boat
5Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂usboat
6Proto-Indo-European(s)neh₂-to swim; to float

via Old Norse hvalr

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

Words derived from “náhvalr”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European néh₂us →Every word from Proto-Indo-European neh₂u- →