rorqual

English

WOTD – 27 June 2006

Etymology

From Norwegian Nynorsk røyrkval, from Old Norse reyðarhvalr (“fin whale”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɔɹkwəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɔːkwəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

rorqual (plural rorquals)

1. Any whale of family Balaenopteridae, with longitudinal skin folds running from below the mouth to the navel, allowing the capacity of the mouth to expand greatly when feeding.
   • 2001 [1873], Frederick Paul Walter, transl., 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, Wikisource / Project Gutenberg, translation of Vingt mille lieues sous les mers by Jules Verne:

     Now then, the biggest whales, those rorqual whales that frequent the waterways of the Aleutian Islands, have never exceeded a length of 56 meters--if they reach even that.

Derived terms

• lesser rorqual
• Sibbald's rorqual

 

Translations

whale with long skin folds below mouth

• Catalan: rorqual (ca) m
• Danish: finhval (da) c
• Dutch: vinvis (nl) m
• Finnish: uurteisvalas
• French: rorqual (fr) m
• German: Furchenwal m
• Italian: balenottera (it) f
• Norwegian: finnhval m
• Polish: fałdowiec m
• Portuguese: rorqual (pt) m
• Russian: полоса́тик (ru) m (polosátik)
• Spanish: rorcual (es) m
• Swahili: nyangumi mwenye mifuo ya kooni
• Swedish: fenval c
• Welsh: rorcwal m, morfil walbon m, morfil asgellog m

See also

• baleen

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French rorqual, from Norwegian Nynorsk røyrkval (“furrow whale”), from Old Norse reyðarhvalr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [rurˈkwal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [rorˈkwal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [roɾˈkwal]

Noun

rorqual m (plural rorquals)

1. rorqual (any whale species with long skin folds below mouth)

Derived terms

• rorqual blau
• rorqual d’aleta blanca

Further reading

• “rorqual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Norwegian Nynorsk røyrkval (“furrow whale”), from Old Norse reyðarhvalr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁɔʁ.k(w)al/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

rorqual m (plural rorquals)

1. rorqual

Derived terms

• rorqual bleu

Descendants

• → Catalan: rorqual

Further reading

• “rorqual”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Norwegian Nynorsk røyrkval, from Old Norse reyðarhvalr.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁoʁˈkwaw/ [hohˈkwaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁoʁˈkwaw/ [hohˈkwaʊ̯]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ʁoɾˈkwaw/ [hoɾˈkwaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁoʁˈkwaw/ [χoχˈkwaʊ̯]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁoɻˈkwaw/ [hoɻˈkwaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁuɾˈkwal/ [ʁuɾˈkwaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁuɾˈkwal/ [ʁuɾˈkwaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁuɾˈkwa.li/

Noun

rorqual m (plural rorquais)

1. rorqual (any whale species with long skin folds below mouth)