Rorqual
WordNet
noun
(1) Any of several baleen whales of the family Balaenopteridae having longitudinal grooves on the throat and a small pointed dorsal fin
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , from
Noun
- Any whale with longitudinal skin folds running from below the mouth to the navel, allowing the capacity of the mouth to expand greatly when feeding.
- 1873 — Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Ch. 1 (transl. by F. P. Walter)
- Now then, the biggest whales, those rorqual whales that frequent the waterways of the Aleutian Islands, have never exceeded a length of 56 meters--if they reach even that.
- 1873 — Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Ch. 1 (transl. by F. P. Walter)