whaler

Meanings

1. One who hunts whales; any person employed in the whaling industry.
2. A seagoing vessel used for hunting whales.
3. One who whales (flogs or beats).
4. A large, strong person.
5. Something of unusually great size, a whopper, a whacker.
6. Any shark of the family Carcharhinidae; a requiem shark.
7. A sundowner; one who cruises about.

1. A surname.

Etymology

From whale + -er. In sense 1, displaced Old English hwælhunta (literally “whale hunter”).