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whalebone

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
whale·bone  (hwlbn, wl-)
n.
1. The elastic, horny material forming the fringed plates that hang from the upper jaw of baleen whales and strain plankton from the water. Also called baleen.
2. An object made of this material.

whalebone [ˈweɪlˌbəʊn]
n
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) Also called baleen a horny elastic material forming a series of numerous thin plates that hang from the upper jaw on either side of the palate in the toothless (whalebone) whales and strain plankton from water entering the mouth
2. (Clothing & Fashion) a thin strip of this substance, used in stiffening corsets, bodices, etc.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.whalebonewhalebone - a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets
horn - the material (mostly keratin) that covers the horns of ungulates and forms hooves and claws and nails
Translations
whalebone [ˈweɪlbəʊn] Nbarba f de ballena; (in haberdashery) → ballena f
whalebone [ˈweɪlˌbəʊn] n (in corset) → stecca di balena
whalebone [ˈweɪlˌbəʊn] n (in corset) → stecca di balena


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
He picked up a thin strip of whalebone and showed it to them.
Every once and a while Peleg came hobbling out of his whalebone den, roaring at the men down the hatchways, roaring up to the riggers at the mast-head, and then concluded by roaring back into his wigwam.
He crawled back over the huddled dogs, dusted the dry snow from his furs with the whalebone beater that Amoraq kept by the door, tapped the skin-lined roof of the house to shake off any icicles that might have fallen from the dome of snow above, and curled up on the bench.
 
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