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baleen

Pronunciation: /bəˈliːn/

The English word “baleen” has 3 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. keratinous material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale (Mysticeti), which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry.
  2. A baleen whale (Mysticeti).
  3. Any whale or large fish.

Etymology

From Middle English baleyne, from Old French baleine (“whale, whalebone”), from Latin balaena (“whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina, “whale”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.