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bowhead

[boh-hed]
noun
  1. a whalebone whale, Balaena mysticetus, of northern seas, having an enormous head and mouth: an endangered species.
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Origin of bowhead

First recorded in 1885–90; bow2 + head
Also called Greenland whale.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bowhead

Historical Examples

  • We have seen them, a pack of hungry sea-wolves, surround a Bowhead whale!

    The New North

    Agnes Deans Cameron

  • From the Bowhead the sound comes like the drawn-out "hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo" of the hoot-owl.

    The New North

    Agnes Deans Cameron

  • The Bowhead whale has within recent years chosen for his summer habitat the pleasant waters off Arctic Canada.

    The New North

    Agnes Deans Cameron

  • Two years later the Narwhal took out fifteen whales, the Jeanette and Bowhead each four.

    The New North

    Agnes Deans Cameron

  • The whaler drawn by oily lure followed the Bowhead east and north from Bering Sea.

    The New North

    Agnes Deans Cameron

British Dictionary definitions for bowhead

bowhead

noun
  1. a large-mouthed arctic whale, Balaena mysticetus, that has become rare through overfishing but is now a protected species
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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