cachalot

Etymology

From French cachalot, from Spanish and Portuguese cachalote, from cachola (“big head”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkaʃəlɒt/, /ˈkaʃələʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæ.ʃə.ˌlɑt/

Noun

cachalot (plural cachalots)

1. The sperm whale.
   • 2011, Richard Shelton, "Sheep, pig, whale", Times Literary Supplement, 22 Sep 2011:

     A flexible rib cage facilitates the collapse of the lungs of a diving cachalot (a synonym derived from an old French word for tooth), so reducing the nitrogen uptake which is responsible for decompression sickness in diving humans, while high levels of haemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the skeletal muscles carry the oxygen required to sustain long periods between breaths.

Etymology

From Portuguese cachalote, from cachola (“big head”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.ʃa.lo/

Noun

cachalot m (plural cachalots)

1. sperm whale

Further reading

• “cachalot” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).