1
Stage 1 of 3
hrosshvalr
Old Norse · medieval
"walrus, a kind of whale"
a compound literally meaning 'horse-whale', naming the tusked Arctic mammal
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Stage 2 of 3
walrus
Dutch · 1650s
"walrus"
the Norse compound was folk-etymologically inverted and reshaped under influence of Dutch 'walvis' (whale) and 'ros' (horse)
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Stage 3 of 3
walrus
English · 1650s onward
"large Arctic marine mammal with tusks"
borrowed directly from Dutch sailors and traders in the Arctic fur trade
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