whalebone
whalebone Lexical Profile
whalebone Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An elastic, horny substance consisting of keratinous plates that grow in rows from the upper jaw of baleen whales to filter plankton from seawater, historically used to stiffen corsets, collars, and umbrellas.
"During the Victorian era, dressmakers relied heavily on strips of flexible whalebone to give bodices and corsets their rigid silhouette."
A thin strip of baleen or a similar stiff, flexible material used as a stay or support in a corset, bodice, or collar.
"One of the whalebones in the antique gown had snapped, causing the high lace collar to droop to one side."
Word Nuance & Usage
Despite its name, whalebone is not actual skeletal bone, but rather flexible keratinous baleen plates from the upper jaw of certain whales.
• Rhymes for whalebone
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English whalbon, a compound of 'whale' and 'bone', historically applied both to actual whale ivory and to elastic baleen plates.