baleen
Use Baleen in a sentence
noun
whalebone ( def 1 ).
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English balene (< Anglo-French baleine, beleine) < Latin bal(l)ēna, variant of bal(l)aena whale < an unidentified language, also the source of Greek phál(l)aina whale; replacing Middle English balayn < Middle French balaine whale(bone) < Latin, as above
1275–1325; Middle English balene (< Anglo-French baleine, beleine) < Latin bal(l)ēna, variant of bal(l)aena whale < an unidentified language, also the source of Greek phál(l)aina whale; replacing Middle English balayn < Middle French balaine whale(bone) < Latin, as above
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To baleen
Collins
World English Dictionary
baleen (bəˈliːn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| whalebone | |
| [C14: from Latin bālaena whale; related to Greek phalaina whale] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Baleen
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
baleen
early 14c., "whalebone," from O.Fr. balaine (12c.) "whale, whalebone," from L. ballaena, from Gk. phallaina "whale" (apparently related to phallos "swollen penis," probably because of a whale's shape), from PIE base *bhel- (2) "to swell" (see bole). Klein writes that the Greek
to Latin transition was "through the medium of the Illyrian language, a fact which explains the transition of Gk. -ph- into L. -b- (instead of -p-)."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| baleen (bə-lēn') Pronunciation Key
A flexible horny substance hanging in fringed plates from the upper jaw of baleen whales. It is used to strain plankton from seawater when feeding. Also called whalebone. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
baleen
series of stiff keratinous plates in the mouths of baleen whales, used to strain plankton from seawater. Whalebone was once important in the production of corsets, brushes, and other goods
Learn more about baleen with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
For example, baleen whales use large baleen plates to sieve small food out of the water.
Explain that humpbacks are baleen whales, which means they don't have teeth.
Bowhead whales are baleen whales, which means they do not have teeth, but baleen plates instead.
Blue whales are the largest baleen whale species--in fact they are the largest animal in the world.
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