mysticete

[ mis-tuh-seet ]

noun

, Zoology.

1. any whale of the suborder Mysticeti, as finback and humpback whales, characterized by a symmetrical skull, paired blowholes, and rows of baleen plates for feeding on plankton.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mysticete¹

1825–35; < New Latin Mysticeti, plural of Mysticetus < Greek mystíkētos or mŷs tò kêtos whalebone whale, literally, mouse-whale (term used in extant texts of Aristotle, perhaps a corruption of *mystakókētos mustache-whale; mustachio, cet- )

Example Sentences

That was why the Mysticete we had killed the day before did not start to drag the Scarboro toward the school.

From Project Gutenberg