bəˈlēn noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English baleine whale, baleen, from Old French, from Latin balaena whale — more at balaena
: a horny substance growing in the mouth of whales of the suborder Mysticeti that is especially developed in the right whale and grows in dependent plates from 2 to 12 feet long attached in 2 ranks along the upper jaw forming a fringelike sieve to collect and retain food — called also whalebone