| 释义 |
narwhal|ˈnɑːhwəl|
Forms: α. 7 narh-, 8– narwhale. β. 8 narhwal, -hual, 8–9 narwal, -whal. γ. 8 narv(h)al.
[= mod.Du. and G. narwal, mod.F. narval (1690), ad. Da. or Sw. narhval (f. hval whale), the relationship of which to ON. náhvalr is obscure. The latter appears to be formed on ná-r, corpse, and is usually supposed to refer to the colour of the skin.]
A delphinoid cetacean (Monodon monoceros) inhabiting the Arctic seas, and remarkable as being without teeth except two in the upper mandible, one (sometimes both) of which develops into a spirally-twisted straight horn; the sea-unicorn.
α1658Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xxiii. (ed. 4) 205 Those long horns preserved..in many places, are but the teeth of Narh whales. 1747Gentl. Mag. XVII. 174 They having..seen the skull of the Narwhale armed with two horns. 1787Hunter in Phil. Trans. LXXVII. 373 The..Spermaceti Whale, and the Monodon Monoceros, or Narwhale, have also fallen under my inspection. 1833Tennyson Lotos-Eaters 152 (ed. 1), Where..the monstrous narwhale swalloweth His foamfountains in the sea. c1865Letheby in Orr's Circ. Sci. I. 103/2 Even the Monodons or narwhales may be made to yield train-oil.
β1752J. Hill Hist. Anim. 314 Monodon, the Unicorn⁓fish, or Nar-wal. 1762tr. Busching's Syst. Geog. I. 490 The horn of the whale called Narwhal has been found in the earth. 1799W. Tooke View Russian Emp. III. 105 The Frozen Ocean, likewise, teems with the narhwal. 1820W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 494 Narwals are quick, active, inoffensive animals. 1873Spectator 23 Aug. 1067/2 The men sit in dead silence..watching for the narwhal, which are blowing near.
attrib.1813Bingley Zool. II. 1 Of the Narwal Tribe. 1866Kingsley Herew. i. I. 79 The handle was..curiously bound with silver, and butted with narwhal ivory. 1875F. T. Buckland Log-bk. 286 Some suppose that the ivory bits..were made of walrus or narwhal tusks.
γ1723Pres. St. Russia II. 386 Who slit their Cheeks, and put the Bones of the Fish Narval into the Wound. 1728Sloane in Phil. Trans. XXXV. 460 The Tooth of a Sort of Whale in the Northern Seas called Narvhal. |