Etymology

killer whale

Today it means: A sea mammal related to dolphins and porpoises (Orcinus orca). Full definition →

Spanish asesina-ballenas
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The story

  1. Spanish · borrowed fromasesina-ballenas“whale killer”
  2. English todaykiller whale

Calque or mistranslation of Spanish asesina-ballenas (“whale killer”), referring to their tendency to hunt whales. Equivalent to killer + whale.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.