whaler
whaler Lexical Profile
whaler Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person or sailor whose occupation is hunting and harvesting whales.
"The historical museum features journals written by a nineteenth-century whaler from New Bedford."
A ship or sturdy double-ended boat specially designed and equipped for hunting whales or processing whale oil at sea.
"The old wooden whaler was restored and converted into a floating maritime exhibit."
Australian Any of various large requiem sharks of the genus Carcharhinus (family Carcharhinidae), such as the bronze whaler or blacktip whaler, inhabiting coastal and oceanic waters and noted for scavenging around whaling operations.
"Surf lifesavers sounded the alarm after spotting a bronze whaler swimming near the sandbar."
• Rhymes for whaler
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the early 17th century from the noun 'whale' (from Old English 'hwæl') combined with the agentive suffix '-er', originally denoting either a sailor or a ship engaged in the Arctic whale fishery.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.