whale
Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises.
Noun 4 meanings
Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises.
“Near-synonym: baleen (obsolete sense)”
Any species of Cetacea, including dolphins and porpoises.
Something, or someone, that is very large.
Something, or someone, that is excellent.
Verb 1 meaning
To hunt for whales.
Etymology
From Middle English whal, whale, from Old English hwæl (“whale”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (“whale”) (compare German Wal, Swedish val, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hval, Norwegian Nynorsk kval; compare also Dutch walvis, West Frisian walfisk, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos (“sheatfish”) (compare German Wels, Latin squalus (“big sea fish”), Old Prussian kalis, Ancient Greek ἄσπαλος (áspalos), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬭𐬀 (kara, “kind of fish”)).
Similar and opposite words
WHALE at a glance
WHALE has 5 letters and scores 11 points in Scrabble (W 4 + H 4 + A 1 + L 1 + E 1) and 11 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #7,295 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with whale
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