A narwhal is a type of whale found in Arctic waters, known for the long, spiral tusk that grows from the front of its head, mainly in males. The tusk is actually an enlarged tooth.
From Danish *narhval* and Norwegian *narhval*, probably from Old Norse *nár* “corpse” + *hvalr* “whale,” referring to its pale, mottled color like a drowned body. The name reflects northern sailors’ impressions of the animal.
The narwhal’s ‘horn’ isn’t a horn at all—it’s a tooth that can grow up to 3 meters long and is packed with nerves. Medieval people thought these were unicorn horns and sold them for huge sums as magical objects. So narwhals secretly powered part of Europe’s unicorn economy.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.