baleen
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to baleen: Baleen whales
ba·leen
(bə-lēn′)n.
See whalebone.
[Middle English balene, from Old French baleine, from Latin balaena, whale, from Greek phallaina, phalaina; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
baleen
(bəˈliːn)n
(Zoology) whalebone
[C14: from Latin bālaena whale; related to Greek phalaina whale]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | baleen - a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets horn - the material (mostly keratin) that covers the horns of ungulates and forms hooves and claws and nails |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.