Transcription
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
-
- [hweyl, weyl]
- /ʰweɪl, weɪl/
- /weɪl/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [hweyl, weyl]
- /ʰweɪl, weɪl/
Definitions of whale word
- noun plural whale any of the larger marine mammals of the order Cetacea, especially as distinguished from the smaller dolphins and porpoises, having a fishlike body, forelimbs modified into flippers, and a head that is horizontally flattened. 1
- noun plural whale Informal. something big, great, or fine of its kind: I had a whale of a time in Europe. 1
- noun plural whale (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Cetus. 1
- verb without object whale to engage in whaling or whale fishing. 1
- verb whale to hit, thrash, or beat soundly. 1
- noun whale A very large marine mammal with a streamlined hairless body, a horizontal tail fin, and a blowhole on top of the head for breathing. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of whale
First appearance:
before 900 One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English; Old English hwæl; cognate with German Wal- in Walfisch, Old Norse hvalr; perhaps akin to Latin squalus kind of fish
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Whale
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
whale popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 96% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
whale usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for whale
noun whale
- mammal — any vertebrate of the class Mammalia, having the body more or less covered with hair, nourishing the young with milk from the mammary glands, and, with the exception of the egg-laying monotremes, giving birth to live young.
- porpoise — any of several small, gregarious cetaceans of the genus Phocoena, usually blackish above and paler beneath, and having a blunt, rounded snout, especially the common porpoise, P. phocoena, of both the North Atlantic and Pacific.
- baleen — whalebone
- beluga — a large white sturgeon, Acipenser (or Huso) huso, of the Black and Caspian Seas: a source of caviar and isinglass
- cetacean — Cetaceans are animals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
verb whale
- ko — a knockout in boxing.
- caning — a beating with a cane as a punishment
- trashed — intoxicated; drunk.
- ferule — a ring or cap, usually of metal, put around the end of a post, cane, or the like, to prevent splitting.
- disciplining — Present participle of discipline.
adjective whale
- mondo — a question to a student for which an immediate answer is demanded, the spontaneity of which is often illuminating.
- tremendous — extraordinarily great in size, amount, or intensity: a tremendous ocean liner; tremendous talent.
- whaler — a person or vessel employed in whaling.
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