whalebone
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
whalebone/ˈweɪlbəʊn/
▶noun an elastic horny substance which grows in a series of thin parallel plates in the upper jaw of some whales and is used by them to strain plankton from the seawater; baleen.
■ strips of this substance, formerly used as stays in corsets and dresses.
'whalebone' also found in these Oxford entries:
