whale
pronunciation
How to pronounce whale in British English:
UK [weɪl]
How to pronounce whale in American English:
US [weɪl]
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- Noun:
- a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
- any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head
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- Verb:
- hunt for whales
Word Origin
- whale
- whale: [OE] Whale comes from a prehistoric Germanic *khwal-, which also produced Swedish and Danish hval and the wal- of German walfisch ‘whale’. The expression a whale of, meaning ‘no end of’, originated in the USA towards the end of the 19th century.
- whale (n.)
- Old English hwæl "whale," also "walrus," from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (cognates: Old Saxon hwal, Old Norse hvalr, hvalfiskr, Swedish val, Middle Dutch wal, walvisc, Dutch walvis, Old High German wal, German Wal), from PIE *(s)kwal-o- (cognates: Latin squalus "a kind of large sea fish"). Phrase whale of a "excellent or large example" is c. 1900, student slang. Whale-oil attested from mid-15c.
- whale (v.2)
- "beat, whip severely," 1790, possibly a variant of wale (v.) "to mark with 'wales' or stripes" (early 15c.), from wale (n.). Related: Whaled; whaling.
- whale (v.1)
- "pursue the business of whale-fishing," 1700, from whale (n.). Whale-fishing is attested from 1570s.
Example
- 1. First , kerosene from petroleum replaced whale oil .
- 2. Many coastal cities offer deep-sea fishing whale watching and harbor cruises .
- 3. Using tso is like kicking a dead whale down the beach .
- 4. It developed in near total isolation from any other species of dolphin or whale .
- 5. Add to the sensory experience the accumulated mercury to be found in whale meat .