Word Meanings - SKULLFISH - Book Publishers vocabulary database

A whaler's name for a whale more than two years old.

WHALE
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
WHALEMAN
A man employed in the whale fishery.
WHALER
A vessel or person employed in the whale fishery.
WHALEBOAT
A long, narrow boat, sharp at both ends, used by whalemen.
WHALEBACK
A form of vessel, often with steam power, having sharp ends and a very convex upper deck, much used on the Great Lakes, esp. for carrying grain.
WHALEBONE
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. Note: Whalebone is chiefly obtained from the bowhead,
SPERM WHALE
A very large toothed whale , having a head of enormous size. The upper jaw is destitute of teeth. In the upper part of the head, above the skull, there is a large cavity, or case, filled with oil and spermaceti. This whale sometimes grows to the
RIGHT WHALE
The bowhead, Arctic, or Greenland whale , from whose mouth the best whalebone is obtained. Any other whale that produces valuable whalebone, as the Atlantic, or Biscay, right whale , and the Pacific right whale ; a bone whale. Pygmy right whale