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whale

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:Whale

English

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A humpbackwhale.

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishwhal,whale, fromOld Englishhwæl(“whale”), fromProto-West Germanic*hwal, fromProto-Germanic*hwalaz(“whale”) (compareGermanWal,Swedishval,Danish andNorwegian Bokmålhval,Norwegian Nynorskkval; compare alsoDutchwalvis,West Frisianwalfisk, fromProto-Indo-European*(s)kʷálos(“sheatfish”) (compareGermanWels,Latinsqualus(“big sea fish”),Old Prussiankalis,Ancient Greekἄσπαλος(áspalos),Avestan𐬐𐬀𐬭𐬀(kara,“kind of fish”)).

Noun

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whale (pluralwhales)

  2. Any one of numerous largemarine mammals comprising an informal group withininfraorderCetacea that usually excludesdolphins andporpoises.
    Synonym:(obsolete)baleen
  3. (by extension) Any species ofCetacea.
    • 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, inThe Economist‎[1], volume408, number8847:
      The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage ofwhale blubber.
  4. (figuratively) Something, or someone, that is verylarge.
    • 1920 September, “A Reformed Free Lance” (pseudonym), “Doctoring a Sick Encyclopedia”, inThe Writer, Volume XXXII, Number 9,page 131:
      It was awhale of a job. […] It took two months, and the fair blush of youth off my cheeks.
    • 1947 May 19, John Chamberlain, “Will Clayton and his Problem”, inLife,page120:
      But when it comes to his business life and business career,Will Clayton is not as other men; he is such awhale of a lot better that it suggests a qualitative as well as a quantitative difference.
    • 2001,Salman Rushdie,Fury: A Novel, London:Jonathan Cape,→ISBN,page 5:
      Passing the Congregation Shearith Israel on Central Park West (a whitewhale of a building with a triangular pediment supported by four count ’em four massive Corinthian columns), Professor Solanka scurrying through the downpour remembered the newly bat-mitzvahed thirteen-year-old girl he’d glimpsed through the side door,[…]
  5. (figuratively, as "whale of a ___") Something, or someone, that isexcellent.
    • 2002, Kathleen Benson, Philip M. Kayal, Museum of the City of New York,A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City, Syracuse University Press→ISBN, page 54
      My own father only wrote one poem in his life as far as I know, but it was awhale of a lyric, the kind you would give your whole life to write, which he did, but that is another story.
    • 2006, June Skinner Sawyers,Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter, Penguin,→ISBN:
      Busley Crowther inThe New York Times called it “awhale of a comedy” even though he couldn't tell the four musicians apart except for Ringo (“the big-nosed one”).
    • 2013, Fred Holtby, Chris Lovie,ROWDY - THE STORY OF A POLICE DOG, Lulu.com,→ISBN, page105:
      They were having awhale of a time when a very stern looking shop assistant came over to tell them off.
  6. (gambling, figuratively) Agambler who routinelywagers large amounts of money.
    Synonym:high roller
    • 2003, Jeff Wuorio,How to Buy and Sell (Just About) Everything:
      These are often no-limit games as maximum bets cramp awhale’s style.
    • 2004, Norm Clarke,Vegas Confidential: Norm! Sin City's Ace Insider 1,000 Naked Truths, Hot Spots and Cool Stuff:
      A handful of the richestwhales routinely play for $200,000 a hand. Australian media mogul Kerry Packer not only regularly bets that much, but has plunked down $200,000 bets for the dealer as a form of a tip.
    • 2008, Deke Castleman,Whale Hunt in the Desert:
      The high roller who had the most ferocious reputation for trying to run the business of the casinos where he played, before he died on December 26, 2006, was Kerry Packer. In the casino world, Packer was the Prince ofWhales.
  7. (finance, figuratively, informal) Aninvestor who deals with very large amounts of money.
    • 2021 May 18, Alexis Goldstein, “These Invisible Whales Could Sink the Economy”, inThe New York Times‎[2],→ISSN:
      If the banks knew how big Archegos’s position was, they may have realized other banks were supplying it with the same leverage — and reconsidered the trade. But a set of worrisome regulatory loopholes kept them from detecting this lurkingwhale.
  8. (marketing, figuratively) Aperson who spends large amounts of money on things that are marketed to them.
    • 2015, Jamie Madigan,Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People who Play Them:
      Whales are the big spenders who drop huge amounts of money into a game.
    • 2015, Omer Artun, Dominique Levin,Predictive Marketing: Easy Ways Every Marketer Can Use Customer Analytics and Big Data, John Wiley & Sons,→ISBN, page99:
      These different customer groups will be attracted to very different promotions. Yourwhales might enjoy receiving frequent emails from you and will purchase almost every time.
    • 2020, Lawrence Ingrassia,Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy, Henry Holt and Company,→ISBN:
      […] gleaned from their activity: one group they dubbed “whales,” the highest-value customers, who bought shave cream and wipes as well as razors;[…]
  9. (figuratively, colloquial, derogatory) An overweight person (usually a woman)
    • 1983, Paul T. Rogers,Saul's Book:
      Thewhale is still snoring. He's a real beauty, thewhale. Got this thick curly hair all over his chest and stomach and legs.
Derived terms
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terms derived fromwhale (noun)
Related terms
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Translations
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large sea mammal
See also
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other associated terms

Verb

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whale (third-person singular simple presentwhales,present participlewhaling,simple past and past participlewhaled)

  1. (intransitive) To hunt for whales.
Derived terms
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Translations
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hunt for whales

References

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Etymology 2

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Uncertain. Perhaps a variant ofwale influenced bywhack,whap, etc.

Verb

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whale (third-person singular simple presentwhales,present participlewhaling,simple past and past participlewhaled)

  1. (slang, transitive) Tothrash, to flog, to beat vigorously or soundly.
    • 1852, Thomas Chandler Haliburton,Why Mr Sellum disposed of the horse (chapter XIV inWorks, volume 22):
      Brought him back, put him in the stall—low stable—got out of his reach, and then begun towhale him. Then he kicked up agin; […]
    • 1865 May, “Three Days at Camp Douglass”, inOur Young Folks: An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls, volume I, number V, page296:
      "I wouldn't let him. When you were a boy in your part of the country, and other boys told tales about you, what did you do with them?" "Whaled 'em like time, Captin'," answered the man; "and if ye'll only shet yer eyes to 't, I'llwhale him." "I can't allow such things in the prison," said the Captain; "and besides, the fellow will be lame for a fortnight, and wouldn't be a match for you in that condition. Let him get limber, and then, if you don'twhale him, I'll make you walk the ladder for a month." The result was, the conscript officer received a sound thrashing; and did not commit another act worthy of punishment for a week.
    • 2004, Steve Frazee,Voices in the Hill,→ISBN:
      They beat him down and keptwhaling him after he was flat.
    • For quotations using this term, seeCitations:whale.
Derived terms
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Translations
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to beat vigorously

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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whale (pluralwhales)

  1. Alternative form ofwhal
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