valis

Borrowed from German Walfisch, a Germanic compound where Wal- is from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (“whale”). The word was first borrowed (as valzivs, a compound of val- with zivs (“fish”) on the model of Wal-fisch, in the early 19th century; before that, only expressions like liela zivs “big fish” or jūras zvērs “sea beast” had been used. The form valis appeared in the early 20th century, and succeeded in replacing valzivs completely only in the 1950s.