baleen

[ buh-leen ]

/ bəˈlin /

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noun

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.

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Origin of baleen

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

Words nearby baleen

baldy, bale, Balearic Islands, baleboste, bale cubic, baleen, baleen whale, balefire, baleful, Balenciaga, baler

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use baleen in a sentence

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.
Biologists vastly underestimated how much whales eat and poop|Philip Kiefer|November 3, 2021|Popular-Science
Savoca and his colleagues “measured all the things you need to measure to get an accurate estimate of consumption,” for baleen whales, she says.
Baleen whales eat (and poop) a lot more than we realized|Jonathan Lambert|November 3, 2021|Science News
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.
The Man Who Seduced the World with Whale Songs - Issue 105: Whale Songs|Stuart Firestein|September 8, 2021|Nautilus
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.
Let’s learn about whales and dolphins|Sarah Zielinski|June 22, 2021|Science News For Students

Earlier sea ice melting and warmer surface water means more krill and other food for these baleen feeders.
In the past 15 years, climate change has transformed the Arctic|Curtis Segarra|December 9, 2020|Science News
The ulna and radius in the rorquals are also comparatively longer than in the baleen whales.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale
In this respect it differs much from the baleen whales, which have a narrow gullet.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale
The baleen is then cut out, and the carcase abandoned to the sharks, killer whales, and sea birds.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale
Many of them grow to enormous size, far exceeding any of the baleen whales.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale
So, also, the baleen of the whale and the teeth of the land mammalia are different organs.
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation|Robert Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for baleen

baleen

/ (bəˈliːn) /

noun

whalebone

Word Origin for baleen

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

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

Scientific definitions for baleen

baleen

[ bə-lēn′ ]

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

baleen

Origin of baleen

Words nearby baleen

Words related to baleen

How to use baleen in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for baleen

Word Origin for baleen

Scientific definitions for baleen