baleen
/bəˈliːn/noun
baleen is spelled B-A-L-E-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, baleen means “keratinous material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale (Mysticeti), which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of baleen is baleens.
How many letters and syllables are in baleen?
| Letters | 6: B-A-L-E-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is baleen?
Baleen appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce baleen?
- /bəˈliːn/
- /ˈbeɪliːn/
Baleen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-baleen.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-baleen2.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Ʒødəlabiskɔt-baleen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with baleen?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as baleen.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: enable.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of baleen
- baleens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does baleen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
keratinous material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale (Mysticeti), which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry.
- 2
A baleen whale (Mysticeti).
- 3
obsoleteAny whale or large fish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Baleen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense plates in mouth of baleen whale:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fanon |
| German | Barte |
| Portuguese | barbas de baleia |
| Spanish | barbas de ballena |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does baleen come from?
From Middle English baleyne, from Old French baleine (“whale, whalebone”), from Latin balaena (“whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina, “whale”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).