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单词 narwhal
释义

narwhaln.

Brit. /ˈnɑːw(ə)l/, U.S. /ˈnɑrˌ(h)wɑl/
Forms:

α. 1600s narhwhale, 1700s– narwhale.

β. 1700s narhual, 1700s narhwal, 1700s– narwal, 1700s– narwhal.

γ. 1700s narval, 1700s narvhal.

Origin: Probably a borrowing from Danish. Etymon: Danish narhval.
Etymology: Probably < Danish narhval, cognate with Norwegian narkval , Swedish narval (1754), and further cognate with Old Icelandic náhvalr < a first element of uncertain origin (perhaps < nár corpse: see need n.1, with reference to the colour of the animal's skin; or perhaps shortened < nál needle n., with reference to the straight tusk) + hvalr whale n.; the epenthetic -r- in the Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish forms has not been satisfactorily explained (see note below). Compare Middle French nahual (1598; French †narhual (1647), †narwal (1676), narval (1723)), Spanish narval (1706), Italian narvalo (1745), Dutch narwal (1769), German Narwal (18th cent.), all ultimately borrowings from Scandinavian.Alternative etymologies connect the first element with the Germanic base of either nase n. or narrow adj.; both of these suggestions assume that forms with -r- are primary, and that forms without -r- (the earliest attested forms) are alterations by folk etymology, after Old Icelandic nár corpse.
A small Arctic whale, Monodon monoceros (family Monodontidae), which has only two teeth, located in the upper jaw, one (or sometimes both) of which in the male develops into a straight spirally twisted tusk. Also called sea-unicorn.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > order Cetacea (whales) > suborder Odontoceti > [noun] > family Monodontidae > genus Monodon (narwhal)
monoceros1590
sea-unicorn1646
narwhal1650
unicorn whale1668
seahorse1674
unicorn-fish1688
unicorn1694
monodon1752
unicorn narwhal1813
unie1874
sea-monoceros-
α.
1650 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica (ed. 2) iii. xxiii. 137 Those long hornes preserved..in many places, are but the teeth of Narhwhales.
1747 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 174/1 They having..seen the skull of the Narwhale arm'd with two horns.
1787 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 77 373 The..Spermaceti Whale, and the Monodon Monoceros, or Narwhale, have also fallen under my inspection.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Lotos-eaters: Choric Song vii, in Poems (new ed.) 116 Where..the monstrous narwhale swalloweth His foamfountains in the sea.
c1865 H. Letheby in J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. 103/2 Even the Monodons or narwhales may be made to yield train-oil.
1955 Speculum 30 604 Mention is made of other adventitious aids, especially birds, which, together with whales, narwhales, walruses, and other fauna, may well have served to aid mariners.
β. 1695 E. Lhuyd Let. 1 July in R. T. Gunther Early Sci. Oxf. (1945) XIV. 104 The horn of a Narhual, curiously wreathed.1739 Philos. Trans. 1737–8 (Royal Soc.) 40 147 We had the Curiosity to catch a sort of Whale called the Narhual or Sea-Unicorn.1743 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 641/2 Here are Whales of different Sorts, as Narwhals and Cachillots.1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 314 Monodon, the Unicorn-fish, or Nar-wal.1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. I. 490 The horn of the whale called Narwhal has been found in the earth.1799 W. Tooke View Russ. Empire III. 105 The Frozen Ocean, likewise, teems with the narhwal.1813 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. (ed. 4) II. 1 Of the Narwal Tribe.1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 494 Narwals are quick, active, inoffensive animals.1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. i. 79 The handle was..curiously bound with silver, and butted with narwhal ivory.1873 Spectator 23 Aug. 1067/2 The men sit in dead silence..watching for the narwhal, which are blowing near.1905 Proc. Royal Soc. 1904–5 75 77 Here ranged, side by side, are giant finners and small porpoises, narwals and killers.1913 R. Kipling Songs from Bks. 252 Their spears are made of narwhal-horn.1959 A. C. Hardy Open Sea II. xv. 286 The narwhal's tusks were sold for large sums as ‘unicorn horns’.1972 S. Burnford One Woman's Arctic ii. 27 Hundreds of narwhal and white [beluga] whales were using a breathing space in the ice.1993 Arctic Circle Summer 28/1 After the tourists leave, the Pond Inlet Inuit hunt the narwhals as they swim in leads among the ice.γ. 1722 tr. C. Le Brun in tr. F. C. Weber Present State Russia II. 386 [The] Sugtsie..slit their Cheeks, and put the Bones of the Fish Narval into the Wound.1728 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 460 The Tooth of a Sort of Whale in the Northern Seas called Narvhal.1744 Philos. Trans. 1742–3 (Royal Soc.) 42 611 There is likewise a small Whale produced here called Butts-kops; as also Unicorns of the Whale kind, which they call Narval.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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