baleen

2 definitions found

baleen - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Baleen \Ba*leen"\ (b[.a]*l[=e]n"), n. [F. baleine whale and
     whalebone, L. balaena a whale; cf. Gr. fa`laina. ] (Zool. &
     Com.)
     Plates or blades of "whalebone," from two to twelve feet
     long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales
     (Bal[ae]noidea) are attached side by side along the upper
     jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is
     retained in the mouth.
     [1913 Webster]

baleen - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  baleen
      n 1: a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales;
           used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets [syn:
           whalebone, baleen]