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View synonyms for baleen

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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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


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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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of baleen1

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

By way of comparison, previous estimates had found that all baleen whales off the Pacific coast of North America ate 2 million metric tons of seafood every year.

Savoca and his colleagues “measured all the things you need to measure to get an accurate estimate of consumption,” for baleen whales, she says.

Songs resonated with people as something that individuals did, and was not just some feature of a species like their baleen or the shape of their flippers.

That baleen is made of keratin — the same stuff as hair — and lets the whale filter krill and other small invertebrates from the water to eat.

Earlier sea ice melting and warmer surface water means more krill and other food for these baleen feeders.

The ulna and radius in the rorquals are also comparatively longer than in the baleen whales.

In this respect it differs much from the baleen whales, which have a narrow gullet.

The baleen is then cut out, and the carcase abandoned to the sharks, killer whales, and sea birds.

Many of them grow to enormous size, far exceeding any of the baleen whales.

So, also, the baleen of the whale and the teeth of the land mammalia are different organs.

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bale cubicbaleen whale