WHALING

Noun

whaling (countable and uncountable, plural whalings)

The practice of hunting whales.

The practice of spotting whales.

(informal) A beating.

Synonyms

• (spotting of whales): whale watching

Verb

whaling

present participle of whale

Source: Wiktionary


Whal"ing, n.

Definition: The hunting of whales.

Whal"ing, a.

Definition: Pertaining to, or employed in, the pursuit of whales; as, a whaling voyage; a whaling vessel.

WHALE

Whale, n. Etym: [OE. whal, AS. hwƦl; akin to D. walvisch, G. wal, walfisch, OHG. wal, Icel. hvalr, Dan. & Sw. hval, hvalfisk. Cf. Narwhal, Walrus.] (Zoƶl.)

Definition: Any aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea, especially any one of the large species, some of which become nearly one hundred feet long. Whales are hunted chiefly for their oil and baleen, or whalebone.

Note: The existing whales are divided into two groups: the toothed whales (Odontocete), including those that have teeth, as the cachalot, or sperm whale (see Sperm whale); and the baleen, or whalebone, whales (Mysticete), comprising those that are destitute of teeth, but have plates of baleen hanging from the upper jaw, as the right whales. The most important species of whalebone whales are the bowhead, or Greenland, whale (see Illust. of Right whale), the Biscay whale, the Antarctic whale, the gray whale (see under Gray), the humpback, the finback, and the rorqual. Whale bird. (Zoƶl.) (a) Any one of several species of large Antarctic petrels which follow whaling vessels, to feed on the blubber and floating oil; especially, Prion turtur (called also blue petrel), and Pseudoprion desolatus. (b) The turnstone; -- so called because it lives on the carcasses of whales. [Canada] -- Whale fin (Com.), whalebone. Simmonds.

– Whale fishery, the fishing for, or occupation of taking, whales.

– Whale louse (Zoƶl.), any one of several species of degraded amphipod crustaceans belonging to the genus Cyamus, especially C. ceti. They are parasitic on various cetaceans.

– Whale's bone, ivory. [Obs.] -- Whale shark. (Zoƶl.) (a) The basking, or liver, shark. (b) A very large harmless shark (Rhinodon typicus) native of the Indian Ocean. It sometimes becomes sixty feet long.

– Whale shot, the name formerly given to spermaceti.

– Whale's tongue (Zoƶl.), a balanoglossus.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

19 June 2025

ROOTS

(noun) the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage; ā€œhis roots in Texas go back a long wayā€; ā€œhe went back to Sweden to search for his rootsā€; ā€œhis music has African rootsā€


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In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

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