Baleen
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 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. uncountable
"“You have probably never seen anything like this before, Mr. Toler. It is baleen, or if you prefer it, whalebone, taken from the mouth of the bowhead whale. It is used by the whale to filter its food.”"
- 2 a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets wordnet
- 3 A baleen whale (Mysticeti). countable
"Scammon estimates the number of baleens killed in the years 1835-72 at 131,000; once again, his figure needs to be adjusted."
- 4 A whale or other large fish. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The Balene is a fishe great and huge, much like to the Whale, and is so called, because of his outcasting and shedding of water, for they throwe water higher then other great fishes of the sea."
Example
More examples"Whales, dolphins and porpoises are divided into two groups: toothed and baleen."
Etymology
From Middle English baleyne, from Old French baleine (“whale, whalebone”), from Latin balaena (“whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina, “whale”).
Related phrases
More for "baleen"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.