Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Baleen \Ba*leen"\, n. [F. baleine whale and whalibone, L.
   balaena a whale; cf. Gr. ?. ] (Zo["o]l. & Com.)
   Plates or blades of ``whalebone,'' from two to twelve feet
   long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales
   ({Bal[ae]noidea}) are attached side by side along the upper
   jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is
   retained in the mouth.

Source : WordNet®

baleen
     n : a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used
         as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets [syn: {whalebone}]