minke
[ ming-kee ]
/ ˈmɪŋ ki /
noun
a dark-colored baleen whale, Baleanoptera acutorostrata, inhabiting temperate and polar seas and growing to a length of 33 feet (10 meters): reduced in numbers.
Also called
minke whale,
lesser rorqual.
Origin of minke
1930–35; < Norwegian
minkehval, allegedly after a crew member of the Norwegian whaling pioneer Svend Foyn (1809–94), named
Meincke, who mistook a pod of minkes for blue whales
Words nearby minke
minivan,
miniver,
minivet,
minié ball,
mink,
minke,
minke whale,
minkowski,
minkowski space-time,
minkowski world,
minn.
British Dictionary definitions for minke whale
minke whale
/ (ˈmɪŋkə) /
noun
a type of small whalebone whale or rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, up to 10 metres long
Also called: minke
Word Origin for minke whale
C20: probably from Norwegian
minkehval, from
minke lesser +
hval whale