Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Rorqual
Ror′qual
,Noun.
[Norw.
rorqualus
a whale with folds.] (Zool.)
A very large North Atlantic whalebone whale (
Physalus antiquorum
, or Balaenoptera physalus
). It has a dorsal fin, and strong longitudinal folds on the throat and belly. Called also razorback
. ☞ It is one of the largest of the whales, somethimes becoming nearly one hundred feet long, but it is more slender than the right whales, and is noted for its swiftness. The name is sometimes applied to other related species of finback whales.
Definition 2024
rorqual
rorqual
English
Noun
rorqual (plural rorquals)
- 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)
Translations
whale with long skin folds below mouth
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See also
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁɔʁkal/
Etymology
From Norwegian røyrkval (“furrow whale”), from Old Norse reyðarhvalr
Noun
rorqual m (plural rorquals)
Portuguese
Noun
rorqual m (plural rorquais)
- rorqual (any whale species with long skin folds below mouth)