- description
- # ETYMOLOGY.
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
This is a section of frontmatter from the novel *Moby-Dick; or, The Whale*, labeled "ETYMOLOGY.". It is a textual excerpt extracted from the file [moby_dick.txt](arke:01KG89J198KE6FY8WPVJQQRCZ6) and is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The text provides an etymological exploration of the word "whale," including definitions and translations in multiple languages. It was extracted on January 30, 2026.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This frontmatter section is part of the novel [Moby-Dick; or, The Whale](arke:01KG8AJ9GN1K052QJEZVGKXJ0T), which is contained within the larger collection of Melville's works. The text was extracted from the source file "moby_dick.txt". It is preceded by the "Epilogue" section ([Epilogue](arke:01KG8AK4T0PWTG4YBCS2CQXYKT)) and followed by the "EXTRACTS." section ([EXTRACTS.](arke:01KG8AK4T0A5PKCMPNA5BTVWJX)).
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
The "ETYMOLOGY." section begins with a brief introduction, followed by a quote from Hackluyt and a definition from Webster's Dictionary. It then presents a list of words for "whale" in various languages, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, English, French, Spanish, Fegee, and Erromangoan.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:50:39.834Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- ETYMOLOGY.
- end_line
- 348
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:54.524Z
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- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 309
- text
- ETYMOLOGY.
(Supplied by a Late Consumptive Usher to a Grammar School.)
The pale Usher—threadbare in coat, heart, body, and brain; I see him
now. He was ever dusting his old lexicons and grammars, with a queer
handkerchief, mockingly embellished with all the gay flags of all the
known nations of the world. He loved to dust his old grammars; it
somehow mildly reminded him of his mortality.
“While you take in hand to school others, and to teach them by what
name a whale-fish is to be called in our tongue, leaving out, through
ignorance, the letter H, which almost alone maketh up the
signification of the word, you deliver that which is not true.”
—_Hackluyt._
“WHALE. * * * Sw. and Dan. _hval_. This animal is named from
roundness or rolling; for in Dan. _hvalt_ is arched or vaulted.”
—_Webster’s Dictionary._
“WHALE. * * * It is more immediately from the Dut. and Ger. _Wallen_;
A.S. _Walw-ian_, to roll, to wallow.” —_Richardson’s Dictionary._
חו, _Hebrew_.
ϰητος, _Greek_.
CETUS, _Latin_.
WHŒL, _Anglo-Saxon_.
HVALT, _Danish_.
WAL, _Dutch_.
HWAL, _Swedish_.
HVALUR, _Icelandic_.
WHALE, _English_.
BALEINE, _French_.
BALLENA, _Spanish_.
PEKEE-NUEE-NUEE, _Fegee_.
PEHEE-NUEE-NUEE, _Erromangoan_.
- title
- ETYMOLOGY.