whaler meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

whaler

noun

UK /ˈweɪlə/ · US /ˈweɪlɚ/

Etymology From whale + -er. In sense 1, displaced Old English hwælhunta (literally “whale hunter”).

7 senses

One who hunts whales; any person employed in the whaling industry.

Near-synonym: whaleman
For a whaler's wife to have been “ 'round the Cape” half a dozen times, or even more, was nothing extraordinary.1890, Century Illustrated Magazine, XL, 511:

3 more examples

Whalers have always overexploited their stocks, driving them to commercial extinction.[…]American whalers, operating at first from the coast and later in sea-going boats, took about 200 000 right whales in addition to humpbacks and grays.1986 June 5, Jeremy Cherfas, “What price whales?”, in New Scientist, page 36:
The whalers brought a new way of life. They brought a chance for travel. Many Chamorros traveled to London and the United States. Over eight hundred Chamorro whalers settled in Honolulu.2001, Lawrence J. Cunningham, Janice J. Beaty, A History of Guam, page 170:
The brewing conflict between locals and the whalers prompted then-sheriff Ari Magnússon to draw up a decree that allowed Basques to be killed with impunity in the district.2015 April 29, Ashifa Kassam, “Basques safe in Iceland as district repeals decree to kill them on sight”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2020:

Nautical, Transport A seagoing vessel used for hunting whales.

Near-synonym: whaleship
But o' Thursday t' Resolution, first whaler back this season, came in port.1863, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, section V:

3 more examples

Making myself at home with him, I desired to know what brought him so far from the "big smoke," and on board a whaler of all places in the world.1898, Frank Thomas Bullen, The Cruise of the Cachalot:
The log of the Emily Morgan, an American whaler that visited Guam many times, described Spanish control:[…].1995, Robert F. Rogers, Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam, page 98:
But the Golden Lion was ambushed by a Naval frigate thinking that a whaler's crew would be useful pressed men. The whaler 's crew didn't agree, and there was a bloody skirmish on shore between the press gang and the crew of the Golden Lion which caused such a scandal that from then on whalers ' men were exempt from conscription.2001, Arabella McIntyre-Brown, Liverpool: The First 1,000 years, page 79:

One who whales (flogs or beats).

Slang A large, strong person.

Slang Something of unusually great size, a whopper, a whacker.

Australia Any shark of the family Carcharhinidae; a requiem shark.

The whalers (or requiem sharks) are one of the largest and best known family of sharks. Worldwide there are 48 species in 12 genera. However, relatively few species are on the Great Barrier Reef.1997, John Ernest Randall, Gerald R Allen, Roger C. Steene, Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef, 2nd edition, page 17:
2003, Mark Thornley, Veda Dante, Peter Wilson, Action Guide: Surfing Australia, Tuttle Publishing, HK, page 264, The whaler shark family, which includes the grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos),silvertip (Carcharhinus albimarginatus), bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) and bronze whaler (Carcharhinus brachyurus) are fast moving, territorial and have bitten divers snd surfers in the past.

1 more example

You can also take a dip with lemon, whaler and other nonpredatory sharks.2008, Alan Murphy, Justin Flynn, Olivia Pozzan, Paul Harding, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, 5th edition, Lonely Planet, page 219:

Australia, Dated, Slang A sundowner; one who cruises about.

the nomad, “the whaler,” it is who will find the new order hostile to his vested interest of doing nothing.1893 August 12, Sydney Morning Herald: