cachalot
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English
Etymology
From French cachalot, from Portuguese cachalote, from cachola (“big head”).
Pronunciation
Noun
cachalot (plural cachalots)
- The sperm whale.
- 2011 September 22, Richard Shelton, “Sheep, pig, whale”, in Times Literary Supplement:
- A flexible rib cage facilitates the collapse of the lungs of a diving cachalot (a synonym derived from an old French word for tooth), so reducing the nitrogen uptake which is responsible for decompression sickness in diving humans, while high levels of haemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the skeletal muscles carry the oxygen required to sustain long periods between breaths.
Translations
sperm whale — see sperm whale
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese cachalote, from cachola (“big head”).
Pronunciation
Noun
cachalot m (plural cachalots)
Descendants
- → English: cachalot
- → Polish: kaszalot
- → Kashubian: kaszalot
- → Romanian: cașalot
- → Russian: кашало́т (kašalót)
Further reading
- “cachalot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.