baleen

ba·leen

B0040100 (bə-lēn′)n. See whalebone.

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

baleen

(bəˈliːn) n (Zoology) whalebone[C14: from Latin bālaena whale; related to Greek phalaina whale]

whale•bone

(ˈʰweɪlˌboʊn, ˈweɪl-)

n. 1. Also called baleen. an elastic, horny substance hanging in fringed platelike sheets from the upper jaws of whalebone whales and serving to strain plankton. 2. something made of this substance, as corset stays. [1175–1225]

ba·leen

(bə-lēn′) A flexible horny substance hanging in plates from the upper jaw of certain whales. It is used by the whales to strain plankton from seawater when feeding. Also called whalebone.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

baleen - a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsetswhalebonehorn - the material (mostly keratin) that covers the horns of ungulates and forms hooves and claws and nails