Whale

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Old English hwæl, of Germanic origin.

wiktionary

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From Middle English whale, from Old English hwæl(“whale”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz(“whale”) (compare German Wal, Swedish val, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hval, Norwegian Nynorsk kval; compare also Dutch walvis, West Frisian walfisk, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos(“ sheatfish”) (compare German Wels, Latin squalus(“big sea fish”), Old Prussian kalis, Ancient Greek ἄσπαλος(áspalos), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬭𐬀‎ (kara, “kind of fish”)).

Uncertain. Perhaps a variant of wale influenced by whack, whap, etc.

etymonline

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whale (n.)

"animals of the mammalian order Cetacea," Old English hwæl "whale," also "walrus," from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (source also of Old Saxon hwal, Old Norse hvalr, hvalfiskr, Swedish val, Middle Dutch wal, walvisc, Dutch walvis, Old High German wal, German Wal), from PIE *(s)kwal-o- (source also of Latin squalus "a kind of large sea fish"). In popular use it was applied to any large sea animal. Phrase whale of a "excellent or large example" is c. 1900, student slang. Whale-oil attested from mid-15c.

whale (v.1)

"pursue the business of whale-fishing," 1700, from whale (n.). Whale-fishing is attested from 1570s.

whale (v.2)

"beat, whip severely," 1790, possibly a variant of wale (v.) "to mark with 'wales' or stripes" (early 15c.), from wale (n.). Related: Whaled; whaling.