balẽa

See also: balea and baleá

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin ballaena, variant of bālaena (“a whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to inflate, blow, swell”), from *bʰel- (“to bloom”).

Cognate with Old Spanish ballena and Mozarabic balléna.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba.ˈlẽ.a/
• Rhymes: -ẽa

Noun

balẽa f

1. whale
2. a large marine fish

Descendants

• Galician: balea
• Portuguese: baleia (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• Universo Cantigas - "balẽa"