parmacety

English

Alternative forms

• parmacetty
• parmaceti

Etymology

Variant form of spermaceti.

Noun

parmacety (plural not attested)

1. (obsolete) Spermaceti.
2. (obsolete) A sperm whale.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 16”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

     "Young man, come nearer to me: it was devoured, chewed up, crunched by the monstrousest parmacetty that ever chipped a boat!--ah, ah!"