whaleman

[hweyl-muhn, weyl-]

noun

plural

whalemen 

1. a person whose occupation is whaling; whale; whaling; whaler.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whaleman¹

An Americanism dating back to 1655–65; whale ¹ + -man

Example Sentences

With “Moby-Dick” in hand, I suggest driving to New Bedford to visit the sites that Melville mentions, among them the Seamen’s Bethel — in the novel, the Whaleman’s Chapel of Father Mapple’s sermon.

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When Ishmael stops by the Whaleman's Chapel before his fateful journey, "each silent worshipper seemed purposely sitting apart from the other, as if each silent grief were insular and incommunicable."

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At dawn, when the sparkling black whale dove back into the sea, the whaleman released his harpoons.

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Across the street is the 1832 Seamen’s Bethel, which inspired the Whaleman’s Chapel in “Moby-Dick.”

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Houses the model for Whaleman’s Chapel in Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick.”

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