לווייתן

Hebrew

לויתן

Etymology

Perhaps a compound of לִוְיָה (livyá, “garland, wreath”) +‎ -תָּן (-tan, agentive suffix), meaning “the tortuous one”; in any case likely related to the root Hebrew לוה (“wind, turn, twist”). Likely also related to Ugaritic 𐎍𐎚𐎐 (ltn).

Pronunciation

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Noun

לווייתן / לִוְיָתָן • (livyatán) m (plural indefinite לווייתנים / לִוְיָתָנִים)

1. whale
2. (biblical, mythology) leviathan
3. (colloquial) "big fish" (senior gangster)