narwhal – English noun declension

English noun forms of narwhal

Noun: narwhal
Singularnarwhal
Pluralnarwhals; narwhal

Sample Sentences

  • Moreover, both narwhals and bowheads can occur in late summer in southern Prince Regent Inlet (coming from Lancaster Sound) and may reach Fury and Hecla Strait and northern Foxe Basin. [1986, D. E. Sergeant, “Chapter 16: Sea Mammals”, in I. P. Martini, editor, Canadian Inland Seas, page 337:]
  • Often, in the morning, narwhals played around the boat and reminded me of the dolphins, so far away in the North Atlantic. But these narwhals were not like the Atlantic sea-dogs; they had little of their flashing vibrancy; these Turkish narwhals were much more relaxed, and rolled over lazily, with a sigh, as if they were going to retire to a sofa and smoke a hookah. [1988, Tristan Jones, Somewheres East of Suez:]
  • At over 2.5 m in length, the tusk of the male narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is one the most impressive instruments of male-male competition among mammals. [2000, Richard C. Connor, Andrew J. Read, Richard Wrangham, edited by Janet Mann, Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales, 10: Male Reproductive Strategies and Social Bonds, page 247:]

Etymology

From Dutch narwal or Danish/Norwegian Bokmål narhval, from Old Norse náhvalr, from nár (“corpse”) + hvalr (“whale”). Compare Icelandic náhvalur. See: Dutch Nouns 'narwal', Norwegian Bokmål Nouns 'narhval', Old Norse Nouns 'náhvalr', Icelandic Nouns 'náhvalur'.