Baleen
Pronunciation : Ba*leen"
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [F. baleine whale and whalibone, L. balaena a whale; cf. Gr. . ] (Zo?l. & Com.)
Definition : Defn: Plates or blades of "whalebone," from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Bal?noidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913