Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sperm whale \Sperm" whale`\ (Zo["o]l.)
   A very large toothed whale ({Physeter macrocephalus}), 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 length of more than eighty feet.
   It is found in the warmer parts of all the oceans. Called
   also {cachalot}, and {spermaceti whale}.

   {Pygmy sperm whale} (Zo["o]l.), a small whale ({Kogia
      breviceps}), seldom twenty feet long, native of tropical
      seas, but occasionally found on the American coast. Called
      also {snub-nosed cachalot}.

   {Sperm-whale porpoise} (Zo["o]l.), a toothed cetacean
      ({Hypero["o]don bidens}), found on both sides of the
      Atlantic and valued for its oil. The adult becomes about
      twenty-five feet long, and its head is very large and
      thick. Called also {bottle-nosed whale}.