Etymology

whale-road

Today it means: The ocean; the open sea. Full definition →

Old English hranrād
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The story

  1. Old English · calque ofhranrād
  2. English todaywhale-road

From whale + road, after Old English hranrād, from hran (“whale”) + rād (“road”), though this translation is debated. Another translation is hran as dolphin and rād as a modified form of rāden (to ride). Therefore, hranrād would be the "riding place of dolphins" or "dolphins' riding".

Words from the same roots

Old Englishhranrād all →

whale-pathwhale's roadwhale's way

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.