baleen

noun

ba·​leen bə-ˈlēn  ˈbā-ˌlēn 

: a horny keratinous substance found in two rows of transverse plates which hang down from the upper jaws of baleen whales

Examples of baleen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These tiny spines could have trapped food, much as rows of baleen in whales’ mouths filter seawater and trap plankton. —Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 30 July 2024

North Pacific right whales are baleen whales, which feed by straining huge volumes of ocean water through their comb-like baleen plates that trap copepods and other zooplankton. —Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 May 2024

Humpback whales feed on krill and small fish, and strain huge volumes of water through the baleen plates in their mouths, which act as a filter-feeding system. —Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024

Whales with baleen, a filter-feeding system, eat smaller prey like krill, zooplankton and small fish by swallowing large gulps of water and straining it through the baleen plates. —Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English balayn, baleyne "whale, baleen," borrowed from Anglo-French balayne, baleyne "whale, porpoise, baleen," going back to Latin balaena, ballaena, ballēna "whale," probably borrowed, via an unknown intermediary language, from Greek phállaina, phálaina "whale," perhaps of pre-Greek substratal origin

Note: E. Furnée (Die wichtigsten konsonantischen Erscheinungen des Vorgriechischen, p. 171) believes balaena was borrowed directly from a Greek variant *bál(l)aina. Greek phállaina has been linked with phallós phallus, alluding to the animal's shape. The Greek suffix -aina goes back to *-a-n-i̯ă, with -i̯ă the Greek outcome of an Indo-European formation called the devī inflection from its designation in Sanskrit grammar, with alternating stems (in Indo-European terms) *-ih₂-/-i̯eh₂-. The extended form *-n-i̯ă is used in Greek in a group of words characterized by P. Chantraine as "vocabulaire noble," forming feminine counterparts to masculine nouns: hence, théaina "goddess" (theós "god"), pótnia "lady, queen" (pósis "husband"), déspoina "mistress of the house" (despótēs "master") (see La formation des noms en grec ancien, pp. 103-09). (With this function there are clear parallels in other Indo-European languages, with much re-formation—compare Sanskrit patnī "lady," Old Church Slavic bogyni "goddess," Latin regīna "queen," Old Irish rígain). On this basis the suffix was used in somewhat less "noble" derivatives, as therápaina "female attendant, maid" (therápōn "attendant"), téktaina "(female) provider" (téktōn "craftsman"). A further extension was to animals that might still be considered "noble," or at least awe-inspiring: drákaina "serpent, she-dragon" (drákōn "serpent, dragon"), léaina "lioness" (léōn "lion"). Then, by a development that Chantraine characterizes as rebroussement (literally, "brushing the wrong way"), -aina is used in words for things of very low regard. At this point the suffix seems to intersect with substratal vocabulary, as a number of the relevant derivatives, if not marked with other features of such vocabulary, allude to the Mediterranean natural world: lýkaina "she-wolf" (lýkos "wolf"), kápraina "wild boar, loose woman" (kápros "boar"), grómphaina "sow" (also grómphis; onomatopoeic?), hýaina hyena (hŷs "swine"), phállaina "geometrid moth" (of uncertain origin). The suffix is found in the names of a number of sea creatures, fish, and marine mammals: bolítaina "kind of cuttlefish with a foul smell" (bólita "excrement, shit"), kolýbdaina "kind of crab" (substratal), mýraina, smȳ́raina moray eel (probably substratal), skórpaina "kind of fish" (skorpíos scorpion; probably substratal), phállaina "whale," phṓkaina "porpoise" (phṓkē "seal," probably substratal). The suffix also appears in the names of a few undesirable physical conditions, as gángraina gangrene entry 1, phlýktaina "blister, pustule," phagédaina "cancerous ulcer" (from the base of phageîn "to eat, consume").

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing baleen

• baleen whale

Kids Definition

baleen

noun

ba·​leen bə-ˈlēn  ˈbā-ˌlēn 

: a horny substance found in two rows of long plates which hang down from the upper jaw of baleen whales

called also whalebone