 The word " whale " comes from the Old English <unk> , related to the High German wal . Related forms are the Old Norse <unk> and the Swedish / Danish <unk> . The obsolete " <unk> " has a similar derivation , indicating a time when whales were thought to be fish . Other archaic English forms include wal , <unk> , <unk> , <unk> , <unk> , <unk> , etc . 
