narwhal
pronunciation
How to pronounce narwhal in British English:
UK [ˈnɑ:wəl]
How to pronounce narwhal in American English:
US [ˈnɑrwɑl]
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- Noun:
- small arctic whale the male having a long spiral ivory tusk
Word Origin
- narwhal
- narwhal: [17] The narwhal, a small arctic whale with a long unicorn-like tusk, is whitish in colour, which evidently reminded Viking seafarers somewhat morbidly of a corpse, for they named it in Old Icelandic nāhvalr, literally ‘corpse whale’. In Danish and Norwegian this became narhval, and English took it over and partially anglicized it as narh whale. Over the centuries this has contracted to narwhal.
- narwhal (n.)
- 1650s, from Danish and Norwegian narhval, probably a metathesis of Old Norse nahvalr, literally "corpse-whale," from na "corpse" + hvalr "whale" (see whale). So called from resemblance of its whitish color to that of dead bodies. The first element is from PIE *nau- (1) "death; to be exhausted" (cognates: Old English ne, neo, Gothic naus "corpse," Old Cornish naun, Old Church Slavonic navi, Old Prussian nowis "corpse," Lettish nawe "death," Lithuanian novyti "to torture, kill").
Example
- 1. The alabaster beluga 's dark cousin , the narwhal is not a conventionally beautiful animal .
- 2. In fact , she 'd be lucky if she got to split a milk shake with a narwhal .
- 3. Greenland 's government funds part of her expeditions , and her findings influence how the narwhal hunting season is managed .
- 4. In the darkness they can tell the difference between a beluga and a narwhal by the sound of their breathing .
- 5. Many of the men spend weeks away from home hunting seals , narwhal , walruses , whales and other mammals .