Link Centre Dictionary

baleen

ba·leen

UK/bəˈliːn/ US/ˈbeɪliːn/ uncommon obsolete

noun

1.

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

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English baleyne, from Old French baleine (“whale, whalebone”), from Latin balaena (“whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina, “whale”).

Phrases

  • baleen whale

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.