narwhal

Where does the word "narwhal" come from? It comes from Old Norse nárhvalr, passing through Danish before entering English (1650s).

Narwhal’s story begins in Old Norse: nárhvalr meant “corpse whale.” 'corpse whale', from 'nár', corpse, perhaps for its pale mottled skin. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Danish as narhval. Danish traders sold its tusks across Europe as unicorn horns. It reached English by 1650s as narwhal. Borrowed through Danish and Dutch whaling accounts. Today, narwhal means an Arctic whale whose male has a long spiral tusk.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval nárhvalr "corpse whale", 'corpse whale', from 'nár', corpse, perhaps for its pale mottled skin.
2. Stage 2 · Danish · 1600s narhval "narwhal", Danish traders sold its tusks across Europe as unicorn horns.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1650s narwhal "tusked whale", borrowed through Danish and Dutch whaling accounts.