WHALE
whale
(noun) any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head
giant, hulk, heavyweight, whale
(noun) a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
whale
(verb) hunt for whales
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Proper noun
Whale
A surname.
Anagrams
• wheal
Etymology 1
Noun
whale (plural whales)
Any of several species of large sea mammals of the infraorder Cetacea.
(figuratively) Something, or someone, that is very large.
(figuratively) Something, or someone, that is excellent.
(gambling) In a casino, a person who routinely bets at the maximum limit allowable.
(finance, informal) An investor who deals with very large amounts of money.
(video games, by extension) A video game player who spends large amounts of money on premium content.
Verb
whale (third-person singular simple present whales, present participle whaling, simple past and past participle whaled)
(intransitive) To hunt for whales.
Etymology 2
Verb
whale (third-person singular simple present whales, present participle whaling, simple past and past participle whaled)
(slang, transitive) To thrash, to flog, to beat vigorously or soundly.
Anagrams
• wheal
Source: Wiktionary
Whale, n. Etym: [OE. whal, AS. hwæl; akin to D. walvisch, G. wal,
walfisch, OHG. wal, Icel. hvalr, Dan. & Sw. hval, hvalfisk. Cf.
Narwhal, Walrus.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea, especially any one of
the large species, some of which become nearly one hundred feet long.
Whales are hunted chiefly for their oil and baleen, or whalebone.
Note: The existing whales are divided into two groups: the toothed
whales (Odontocete), including those that have teeth, as the
cachalot, or sperm whale (see Sperm whale); and the baleen, or
whalebone, whales (Mysticete), comprising those that are destitute of
teeth, but have plates of baleen hanging from the upper jaw, as the
right whales. The most important species of whalebone whales are the
bowhead, or Greenland, whale (see Illust. of Right whale), the Biscay
whale, the Antarctic whale, the gray whale (see under Gray), the
humpback, the finback, and the rorqual. Whale bird. (Zoöl.) (a) Any
one of several species of large Antarctic petrels which follow
whaling vessels, to feed on the blubber and floating oil; especially,
Prion turtur (called also blue petrel), and Pseudoprion desolatus.
(b) The turnstone; -- so called because it lives on the carcasses of
whales. [Canada] -- Whale fin (Com.), whalebone. Simmonds.
– Whale fishery, the fishing for, or occupation of taking, whales.
– Whale louse (Zoöl.), any one of several species of degraded
amphipod crustaceans belonging to the genus Cyamus, especially C.
ceti. They are parasitic on various cetaceans.
– Whale's bone, ivory. [Obs.] -- Whale shark. (Zoöl.) (a) The
basking, or liver, shark. (b) A very large harmless shark (Rhinodon
typicus) native of the Indian Ocean. It sometimes becomes sixty feet
long.
– Whale shot, the name formerly given to spermaceti.
– Whale's tongue (Zoöl.), a balanoglossus.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition