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White whale

//waɪt ˈweɪl// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Synonym of beluga (“the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, a cetacean found in the Arctic Ocean”)

    "The English called the beluga the "white whale", a name often still used (and not to be confused with the white whale of Moby-Dick, which was an albino sperm whale)."

  2. 2
    small northern whale that is white when adult wordnet
  3. 3
    Any whale of the family Monodontidae, which comprises the beluga whales and narwhals (Monodon monoceros), and some extinct species.
  4. 4
    An obsession, a monomania. figuratively

    "No … no sapphires. It looks like Lester Velasquez was chasing his white whale. There never were any sapphires inside that diner."

  5. 5
    A printing plate, used to manufacture a particular sports card, that is then issued as a collectible itself. figuratively

Etymology

From white + whale. The figurative senses refer to the novel Moby-Dick (1851) by the American writer Herman Melville (1819–1891), in which Captain Ahab relentlessly pursues a rare albino sperm whale.

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