Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A whale.
  • noun The sea-bream.
  • noun Whalebone in its natural state: a name given by whale-fishers.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl. & Com.) Plates or blades of “whalebone,” from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Balænoidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun physiology, uncountable The plates in the mouth of the baleen whale, Mysticeti, which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry
  • noun zoology, countable a baleen whale

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English balene, from Old French baleine, from Latin balaena, whale, from Greek phallaina, phalaina; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French baleine ("whale, whalebone"), from Latin balaena ("whale"), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα ("whale").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word baleen.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "There is armour made from whale baleen. Many of the graves also contain flat stones, which presumably have some kind of ceremonial purpose.

    ...

    Researchers can also call on human memory and lore, because Nuvuk retained human inhabitants until about 60 years ago."

    - 'Bodies Point To Alaska's Past', Richard Black, BBC website 31 Dec 2007

    January 1, 2008