whale-road en · NOUN
Etymology
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".
Meanings
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(literary, qualifier:kenning) The ocean; the open sea.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts / beyond the whale-road had to yield to him / and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
1999, Seamus Heaney, transl., Beowulf:[…] and his name was called Scyld. He grew to man's estate, and became a mighty king, and subdued the peoples under him. All the neighboring peoples across the whale roads obeyed Scyld.
1907, John Gibb, “Beowulf”, in The Children's Hour, volume 4, page 3:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| the whale-road | canonical | lexicographic | |
| whale-roads | Number=Plur | lexicographic |