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prettygoodwordrorqual (RAWR-kwuhl) - n., any of several whales of the family Balaenopteridae.
These are baleen whales, with baleen to filter food from the water instead of teeth, and longitudinal folds of skin under their jaw, allowing the mouth to greatly expand and so increase how much water can be thus filtered. It's these groove-like folds that give them their name: the word was borrowed around 1827 from Norwegian rørhval or røyrkval, from Old Norse reyðarhvalr, from reyðar, furrowed + hvalr, whale. The roquals include the blue, fin, sei, minke, and humpback whales.
I have a vague feeling I've posted this before, but Google cannot find the evidence.
---L.
These are baleen whales, with baleen to filter food from the water instead of teeth, and longitudinal folds of skin under their jaw, allowing the mouth to greatly expand and so increase how much water can be thus filtered. It's these groove-like folds that give them their name: the word was borrowed around 1827 from Norwegian rørhval or røyrkval, from Old Norse reyðarhvalr, from reyðar, furrowed + hvalr, whale. The roquals include the blue, fin, sei, minke, and humpback whales.
I have a vague feeling I've posted this before, but Google cannot find the evidence.
---L.
