baleen Hear it!

baleen definition

ba·leen (bə lēn)

noun

the horny, elastic plates that hang down in fringed, parallel columns from the upper jaw or palate of baleen whales and serve as a strainer that catches plankton while a whale is feeding

Etymology: ME & OFr baleine < L ballaena < Gr phallaina, whale < phallos (see phallus): so named from the shape of the whale

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.