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Webster 1913 Edition
Narwhal
Nar′whal
(när′hwȧl)
, Noun.
[Sw. or Dan.
narvhal
; akin to Icel. nāhvalr
, and E. whale
. the first syllable is perh. from Icel. nār
corpse, dead body, in allusion to the whitish color its skin. See Whale
.] [Written also
narwhale
and narwal
.] (Zool.)
An arctic cetacean (
Monodon monocerous
), about twenty feet long. The male usually has one long, twisted, pointed canine tooth, or tusk, projecting forward from the upper jaw like a horn, whence it is called also sea unicorn
, unicorn fish
, and unicorn whale
. Sometimes two horns are developed, side by side.