baleen
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old French baleine (“whale, whalebone”), from Latin balaena (“whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (“whale”).
Noun [edit]
Wikipedia baleen (countable and uncountable; plural baleens)
- (physiology, uncountable) The plates in the mouth of the baleen whale, Mysticeti, which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry
- 1954, Alexander Alderson, chapter 5, The Subtle Minotaur[1]:
- “You have probably never seen anything like this before, Mr. Toler. It is baleen, or if you prefer it, whalebone, taken from the mouth of the bowhead whale. It is used by the whale to filter its food.”
- 1954, Alexander Alderson, chapter 5, The Subtle Minotaur[1]:
- (zoology, countable) a baleen whale
Translations [edit]
plates in mouth of baleen whale
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Synonyms [edit]
Anagrams [edit]
Spanish [edit]
Verb [edit]
baleen (infinitive balear)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English nouns
- en:Physiology
- English uncountable nouns
- en:Zoology
- English countable nouns
- Spanish verb forms
- Spanish verb imperative forms
- Spanish verb plural forms
- Spanish verb second-person forms
- Spanish verb formal forms
- Spanish forms of verbs ending in -ar
- Spanish verb subjunctive forms
- Spanish verb present forms
- Spanish verb third-person forms
