baleen
n 1: a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales;
used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets [syn:
{whalebone}, {baleen}]
Baleen \Ba*leen"\ (b[.a]*l[=e]n"), n. [F. baleine whale and
whalebone, L. balaena a whale; cf. Gr. fa`laina. ] (Zool. &
Com.)
Plates or blades of "whalebone," from two to twelve feet
long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales
({Bal[ae]noidea}) are attached side by side along the upper
jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is
retained in the mouth.
[1913 Webster]