释义 |
whale I. \ˈhwāl, esp before pause or consonant -āəl; also ˈwā-\ noun (plural whale or whales) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwæl; akin to Old High German hwal whale, Old Norse hvalr, and probably to Latin squalus, a sea fish 1. : an aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea that superficially resembles a large fish and is valued commercially for whale oil, for the flesh which is used as human food and in animal feeds and fertilizers, and formerly for baleen; especially : one of the larger members of this group — compare dolphin, porpoise; see toothed whale, whalebone whale, zeuglodon 2. a. : a person or thing with an extraordinary appetite or keenness < a whale for work > < the great ship — an insatiable whale that ate men and gold — James Dugan > b. : a person or thing impressive in size or qualities or superlatively good of kind < not impressed by the pronouncements of the scientific whales > < a whale of a difference > < a whale of a story > — often used intensively in the phrase a whale of a < borrowed a whale of a lot of money > < a whale of a good time > II. intransitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) : to engage in whale fishing III. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: origin unknown transitive verb 1. : lash, thrash < whale a boy for lying > 2. : to strike or hit vigorously < whale the ball for a home run > 3. : to bring by thrashing or striking < whale the dust out of the carpets > 4. : to defeat soundly < whaled their rivals 20 to 0 > intransitive verb : to perform an action with great vigor; especially : to make a vigorous attack on a person or thing — often used with away < uses his daily column to whale away at his pet peeves > IV. variant of wale |