narwhal

[ nahr-wuhl ]
See synonyms for narwhal on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small Arctic whale, Monodon monoceros, the male of which has a long, spirally twisted tusk extending forward from the upper jaw.

Origin of narwhal

1
First recorded in 1650–60; from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian, Swedish, Danish nar(h)val, reshaped from Old Norse nāhvalr, equivalent to nār “corpse” + hvalr whale1; allegedly so called because its skin resembles that of a human corpse
  • Also narwal, nar·whale [nahr-hweyl, -weyl]. /ˈnɑrˌʰweɪl, -ˌweɪl/.

Other words from narwhal

  • nar·whal·i·an [nahr-hwey-lee-uhn, -wey-, -wol-ee-], /nɑrˈʰweɪ li ən, -ˈweɪ-, -ˈwɒl i-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use narwhal in a sentence

  • The Greenlanders call the Narwal the forerunner of the whale; for wherever it is seen, the whale is shortly after sure to follow.

  • The handle is sometimes made of the horn of the narwal, but more frequently of wood.

    Ungava | R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for narwhal

narwhal

narwal narwhale (ˈnɑːˌweɪl)

/ (ˈnɑːwəl) /


noun
  1. an arctic toothed whale, Monodon monoceros, having a black-spotted whitish skin and, in the male, a long spiral tusk: family Monodontidae

Origin of narwhal

1
C17: of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish, Norwegian narhval, from Old Norse nāhvalr, from nār corpse + hvalr whale, from its white colour, supposed to resemble a human corpse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012