mysticete

[ mis-tuh-seet ]
/ ˈmɪs təˌsit /

noun Zoology.

any whale of the suborder Mysticeti, as finback and humpback whales, characterized by a symmetrical skull, paired blowholes, and rows of baleen plates for feeding on plankton.
Compare odontocete.

Origin of mysticete

1825–35; < New Latin Mysticeti, plural of Mysticetus < Greek mystíkētos or mŷs tò kêtos whalebone whale, literally, mouse-whale (term used in extant texts of Aristotle, perhaps a corruption of *mystakókētos mustache-whale; see mustachio, cet-)

Words nearby mysticete

mystery play, mystery tour, mystic, mystical, mystical theology, mysticete, mysticism, mysticize, mystify, mystique, mysuru

Example sentences from the Web for mysticete

  • That was why the Mysticete we had killed the day before did not start to drag the Scarboro toward the school.

    Swept Out to Sea |W. Bertram Foster