English → Latin
“whale” in Latin
bālaenaa whalecētusAny large sea-animal, such as a whale, shark, seal, dogfish, dolphin, or tuna, or a sea monster.; The constellation Cetu
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
whale
balaena (Plin.): cetus (any large fish or sea-monster). Whale fishery, captura balaenarum: whale-bone, os balaenae.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for whale?
- The usual Latin words for “whale” are bālaena, cētus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.