baleen

[ buh-leen ]

noun

1. an elastic, horny substance growing in place of teeth in the upper jaw of certain whales, and forming a series of thin, parallel plates on each side of the palate; whalebone.

baleen

/ bəˈliːn /

noun

1. whalebone

baleen

/ bə-lēn′ /

1. 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.
2. Also called whalebone

Word History and Origins

Origin of baleen¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English balene (from Anglo-French baleine, beleine, ) from Latin bal(l)ēna, variant of bal(l)aena “whale,” from an unidentified language, also the source of Greek phál(l)aina “whale”; replacing Middle English balayn, Middle French balaine “whale(bone),” from Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of baleen¹

C14: from Latin bālaena whale; related to Greek phalaina whale

Example Sentences

Like the blue whale, fin whales are balleens, sporting two blowholes and, instead of teeth, hundreds of rows of baleen plates made of keratin.

From Los Angeles Times

North Pacific right whales are baleen whales, which feed by straining huge volumes of ocean water through their comb-like baleen plates that trap copepods and other zooplankton.

From Seattle Times

While previous studies have linked caller identity to acoustic tag data, this is the first robust method for studying large baleen whales, like humpback whales.

From Science Daily

The recovery of baleen whales including endangered blue whales is now threatened by multiple human sources, including underwater noise, changing availability of food driven by human-induced effects on ocean productivity, environmental contaminants, ship collision and entanglement in fishing gear.

From Science Daily

“Often they feed by diving to the bottom and sifting big gulps of sediment through their baleen, consuming the amphipods in great numbers,” Milstein said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mammal
• porpoise