Etymology From Middle English whal, whale, from Old English hwæl (“whale”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (“whale”) (compare German Wal, Swedish val, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hval, Norwegian Nynorsk kval; compare also Dutch walvis, West Frisian walfisk, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos (“sheatfish”) (compare German Wels, Latin squalus (“big sea fish”), Old Prussian kalis, Ancient Greek ἄσπαλος (áspalos), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬭𐬀 (kara, “kind of fish”)).
Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises.
Near-synonym: baleen (obsolete sense)
And God created great whales, and euery liuing creature that moueth, which the waters brought forth aboundantly after their kinde, and euery winged foule after his kinde: and God saw that it was good.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 1:21:
1 more example
Whale oil was still moderately useful for several things, and whale lives were valueless. Dead whales were used to soften leather and lubricate machines and to somewhat mitigate the effects of trench foot in the first world war.2025 September 11, Kate Marvel, “‘We’ve done it before’: how not to lose hope in the fight against ecological disaster”, in The Guardian:
2
Broadly Any species of Cetacea.
The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber.2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2019:
3
Figuratively Something, or someone, that is very large.
It was a whale of a job. […] It took two months, and the fair blush of youth off my cheeks.1920 September, “A Reformed Free Lance” (pseudonym), “Doctoring a Sick Encyclopedia”, in The Writer, Volume XXXII, Number 9, page 131
But when it comes to his business life and business career, Will Clayton is not as other men; he is such a whale of a lot better that it suggests a qualitative as well as a quantitative difference.1947 May 19, John Chamberlain, “Will Clayton and his Problem”, in Life, page 120:
1 more example
Passing the Congregation Shearith Israel on Central Park West (a white whale of a building with a triangular pediment supported by four count ’em four massive Corinthian columns), Professor Solanka scurrying through the downpour remembered the newly bat-mitzvahed thirteen-year-old girl he’d glimpsed through the side door, […]2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 5:
4
Figuratively, As "whale of a ___" Something, or someone, that is excellent.
My own father only wrote one poem in his life as far as I know, but it was a whale of a lyric, the kind you would give your whole life to write, which he did, but that is another story.2002, Kathleen Benson, Philip M. Kayal, Museum of the City of New York, A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City, Syracuse University Press →ISBN, page 54
Busley Crowther in The New York Times called it “a whale of a comedy” even though he couldn't tell the four musicians apart except for Ringo (“the big-nosed one”).2006, June Skinner Sawyers, Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter, Penguin, →ISBN:
1 more example
They were having a whale of a time when a very stern looking shop assistant came over to tell them off.2013, Fred Holtby, Chris Lovie, ROWDY - THE STORY OF A POLICE DOG, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 105:
These are often no-limit games as maximum bets cramp a whale’s style.2003, Jeff Wuorio, How to Buy and Sell (Just About) Everything:
A handful of the richest whales routinely play for $200,000 a hand. Australian media mogul Kerry Packer not only regularly bets that much, but has plunked down $200,000 bets for the dealer as a form of a tip.2004, Norm Clarke, Vegas Confidential: Norm! Sin City's Ace Insider 1,000 Naked Truths, Hot Spots and Cool Stuff:
1 more example
The high roller who had the most ferocious reputation for trying to run the business of the casinos where he played, before he died on December 26, 2006, was Kerry Packer. In the casino world, Packer was the Prince of Whales.2008, Deke Castleman, Whale Hunt in the Desert:
If the banks knew how big Archegos’s position was, they may have realized other banks were supplying it with the same leverage — and reconsidered the trade. But a set of worrisome regulatory loopholes kept them from detecting this lurking whale.2021 May 18, Alexis Goldstein, “These Invisible Whales Could Sink the Economy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Whales are the big spenders who drop huge amounts of money into a game.2015, Jamie Madigan, Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People who Play Them:
These different customer groups will be attracted to very different promotions. Your whales might enjoy receiving frequent emails from you and will purchase almost every time.2015, Omer Artun, Dominique Levin, Predictive Marketing: Easy Ways Every Marketer Can Use Customer Analytics and Big Data, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 99:
1 more example
[…] gleaned from their activity: one group they dubbed “whales,” the highest-value customers, who bought shave cream and wipes as well as razors; […]2020, Lawrence Ingrassia, Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy, Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN:
The whale is still snoring. He's a real beauty, the whale. Got this thick curly hair all over his chest and stomach and legs.1983, Paul T. Rogers, Saul's Book:
Etymology From Middle English whal, whale, from Old English hwæl (“whale”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (“whale”) (compare German Wal, Swedish val, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hval, Norwegian Nynorsk kval; compare also Dutch walvis, West Frisian walfisk, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos (“sheatfish”) (compare German Wels, Latin squalus (“big sea fish”), Old Prussian kalis, Ancient Greek ἄσπαλος (áspalos), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬭𐬀 (kara, “kind of fish”)).
Etymology Uncertain. Perhaps a variant of wale influenced by whack, whap, etc.
1
Slang To thrash, to flog, to beat vigorously or soundly.
Brought him back, put him in the stall—low stable—got out of his reach, and then begun to whale him. Then he kicked up agin; […]1852, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Why Mr Sellum disposed of the horse (chapter XIV in Works, volume 22)
"I wouldn't let him. When you were a boy in your part of the country, and other boys told tales about you, what did you do with them?" "Whaled 'em like time, Captin'," answered the man; "and if ye'll only shet yer eyes to 't, I'll whale him." "I can't allow such things in the prison," said the Captain; "and besides, the fellow will be lame for a fortnight, and wouldn't be a match for you in that condition. Let him get limber, and then, if you don't whale him, I'll make you walk the ladder for a month." The result was, the conscript officer received a sound thrashing; and did not commit another act worthy of punishment for a week.1865 May, “Three Days at Camp Douglass”, in Our Young Folks: An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls, volume I, number V, page 296:
2 more examples
They beat him down and kept whaling him after he was flat.2004, Steve Frazee, Voices in the Hill, →ISBN:
For quotations using this term, see Citations:whale.