Word Study
whalebone
CIDE DICTIONARY
whalebone, n.
A firm, elastic substance resembling horn, taken from the upper jaw of the right whale; baleen. It is used as a stiffening in stays, fans, screens, and for various other purposes. See Baleen. [1913 Webster]
" Whalebone is chiefly obtained from the bowhead, or Greenland, whale, the Biscay whale, and the Antarctic, or southern, whale. It is prepared for manufacture by being softened by boiling, and dyed black." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
whalebone, n. an elastic horny substance growing in thin parallel plates in the upper jaw of some whales, used as stiffening etc.
Idiom
whalebone whale a baleen whale.
ROGET THESAURUS
whalebone
Elasticity
N elasticity, springiness, spring, resilience, renitency, buoyancy, rubber, India rubber, Indian rubber, latex, caoutchouc, whalebone, gum elastic, baleen, natural rubber, neoprene, synthetic rubber, Buna- S, plastic, flexibility, Young's modulus, elastic, flexible, tensile, spring, resilient, renitent, buoyant, ductile, stretchable, extendable, the stress is proportional to the strain.For further exploring for "whalebone" in Webster Dictionary Online