minke
[ ming-kee ]
/ ˈmɪŋ ki /
noun
a dark-colored baleen whale, Baleanoptera acutorostrata, inhabiting temperate and polar seas and growing to a length of 33 feet (10 meters): reduced in numbers.
Nearby words
minivan, miniver, minivet, minié ball, mink, minke, minke whale, minkowski, minkowski space-time, minkowski world, minn.
Origin of minke
1930–35; < Norwegian minkehval, allegedly after a crew member of the Norwegian whaling pioneer Svend Foyn (1809–94), named Meincke, who mistook a pod of minkes for blue whales
Also called minke whale, lesser rorqual.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for minke whale
minke whale
/ (ˈmɪŋkə) /
noun
a type of small whalebone whale or rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, up to 10 metres longAlso called: minke
Word Origin for minke whale
C20: probably from Norwegian minkehval, from minke lesser + hval whale
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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