Where does “narval” come from?

narval (Swedish) comes from Old Norse náhvalr, 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.

narval (Swedish): narwhal

Definitions

  1. narwhal

Ancestry of “narval”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsenáhvalrcorpse whale
2Old NorseNárname of a dwarf
3Proto-Germanicnawizcorpse
4Proto-Indo-Europeanneh₂wiscorpse
5Proto-Indo-Europeanneh₂u-death; death; corpse; ship, boat
6Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂usboat
7Proto-Indo-European(s)neh₂-to swim; to float
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European néh₂us →Every word from Proto-Indo-European neh₂u- →