narwhal
Americannoun
-
narwhals
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of narwhal
First recorded in 1650–60; from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian, Swedish, Danish nar(h)val, reshaped from Old Norse nāhvalr, equivalent to nār “corpse” + hvalr whale 1; allegedly so called because its skin resembles that of a human corpse
Explanation
A narwhal is like the unicorn of whales, with a long pointy tusk sticking out of its head. And, like unicorns, you probably won't spot one (unless you are traveling the Arctic waters near Greenland). Only male narwhals have a distinctive ivory tusk, which is actually a long, protruding canine tooth. It's a medium-sized whale, related to the beluga, and it's able to dive underwater for up to 25 minutes at a time. Narwhal comes from the Danish narhval, with the Old Norse root nahvalr literally meaning "corpse whale," for the narwhal's pale white color, thought to resemble the shade of a dead body.
Vocabulary lists containing narwhal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An extended version of the ad also features a talking narwhal.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
Natural history museums got their start in the 1400s as cabinets of wonders in which aristocrats kept precious oddities like narwhal skulls or glittering crystals.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2023
The list includes a Queen's Gallantry Medal for Darryn Frost who used a narwhal tusk to fend off Usman Khan outside the Fishmongers' Hall event.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2023
The narwhal, or unicorn of the sea, is an Arctic whale that has a long spiral tusk, up to nearly 10 feet long.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2022
When I look over, she’s hugging her stuffed narwhal, looking all of a sudden like a deflated balloon.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
Animals including narwhals and belugas are sharing habitat with - or even being displaced by - these other whales.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Menopause is known to exist in five species of toothed whale: short-finned pilot whales, false killer whales, killer whales, narwhals and beluga whales.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
They include orcas, short-finned pilot whales, narwhals, beluga whales, and false killer whales.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 26, 2023
The pilot project aims to assess where narwhals are living, how many there are and how they aid phytoplankton blooms.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 24, 2023
What happened when all the new animals in the north killed off the arctic foxes and belugas and narwhals and polar bears that already lived there?
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
