About The Word Whale

Bay Area Crosswords

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Whale

Whale Meaning & Definition
Whale Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Whale?

[n] any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head
[n] a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
[v] hunt for whales

Synonyms | Synonyms for Whale: giant | heavyweight | hulk

Related Terms | Find terms related to Whale:

See Also | baleen whale | blower | cetacean | cetacean mammal | hunt | hunt down | large person | Monodon monoceros | narwal | narwhal | narwhale | run | spouter | toothed whale | track down | whalebone whale

Whale In Webster's Dictionary

\Whale\, n. [OE. whal, AS. hw[ae]l; akin to D. walvisch, G. wal, walfisch, OHG. wal, Icel. hvalr, Dan. & Sw. hval, hvalfisk. Cf. {Narwhal}, {Walrus}.] (Zo["o]l.) Any aquatic mammal of the order {Cetacea}, especially any one of the large species, some of which become nearly one hundred feet long. Whales are hunted chiefly for their oil and baleen, or whalebone. Note: The existing whales are divided into two groups: the toothed whales ({Odontocete}), including those that have teeth, as the cachalot, or sperm whale (see {Sperm whale}); and the baleen, or whalebone, whales ({Mysticete}), comprising those that are destitute of teeth, but have plates of baleen hanging from the upper jaw, as the right whales. The most important species of whalebone whales are the bowhead, or Greenland, whale (see Illust. of {Right whale}), the Biscay whale, the Antarctic whale, the gray whale (see under {Gray}), the humpback, the finback, and the rorqual. {Whale bird}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of large Antarctic petrels which follow whaling vessels, to feed on the blubber and floating oil; especially, {Prion turtur} (called also {blue petrel}), and {Pseudoprion desolatus}. (b) The turnstone; -- so called because it lives on the carcasses of whales. [Canada] {Whale fin} (Com.), whalebone. --Simmonds. {Whale fishery}, the fishing for, or occupation of taking, whales. {Whale louse} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of degraded amphipod crustaceans belonging to the genus {Cyamus}, especially {C. ceti}. They are parasitic on various cetaceans. {Whale's bone}, ivory. [Obs.] {Whale shark}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The basking, or liver, shark. (b) A very large harmless shark ({Rhinodon typicus}) native of the Indian Ocean. It sometimes becomes sixty feet long. {Whale shot}, the name formerly given to spermaceti. {Whale's tongue} (Zo["o]l.), a balanoglossus.

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