rorqual (redirected from Rorquals)

ror·qual  (rôrkwl)

n.

Any of several baleen whales of the family Balaenopteridae having longitudinal grooves on the throat and a small, pointed dorsal fin. Also called razorback.

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[French, from Norwegian rørhval, from Old Norse reydharhvalr : reydhr, rorqual (from raudhr, red; see reudh- in Indo-European roots) + hvalr, whale.]

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rorqual [ˈrɔːkwəl]

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any of several whalebone whales of the genus Balaenoptera, esp B. physalus: family Balaenopteridae. They have a dorsal fin and a series of grooves along the throat and chest Also called finback

[from French, from Norwegian rörhval, from Old Norse reytharhvalr, from reythr (from rauthr red) + hvalr whale]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

rorqual - any of several baleen whales of the family Balaenopteridae having longitudinal grooves on the throat and a small pointed dorsal fin razorback baleen whale, whalebone whale - whale with plates of whalebone along the upper jaw for filtering plankton from the water Balaenopteridae, family Balaenopteridae - rorquals; blue whales Balaenoptera physalus, common rorqual, fin whale, finback, finback whale - large flat-headed whalebone whale having deep furrows along the throat; of Atlantic and Pacific Balaenoptera borealis, sei whale - similar to but smaller than the finback whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata, lesser rorqual, minke whale, piked whale - small finback of coastal waters of Atlantic and Pacific