whalebone whale

American  

[hweyl-bohn hweyl, weyl-bohn weyl] / ˈʰweɪlˌboʊn ˌʰweɪl, ˈweɪlˌboʊn ˌweɪl /

noun

1. baleen whale.

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whalebone whale British  

noun

1. any whale belonging to the cetacean suborder Mysticeti, having a double blowhole and strips of whalebone between the jaws instead of teeth: includes the rorquals, right whales, and the blue whale Compare toothed whale

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Etymology

Origin of whalebone whale

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whalebone whale

In North America, right whales were called the true whale, the whalebone whale, the 7ft bone whale and the rock-nose whale.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 20, 2018

A species of whalebone whale, the Megaptera longimana, which attains to 45 or 50 feet in length, and is distinguished by its low rounded dorsal fin.

From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher

These pteropods are small, active, oceanic, surface-swimming creatures, many of which live in delicate glass-like shells, and some of which form a large part of the food of the whalebone whale.

From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, September 1879 by Various

"Do you suppose that's a whalebone whale, Hank?" asked the boy, turning to a lithe Yankee sea-dog with a scraggy gray beard who had been busily working over the mechanism of the whale-gun.

From The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

The most notable animals are the white-bear, the musk-ox, the reindeer, and the whalebone whale.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 Amiel to Atrauli by Various