- Main Entry:
- ce·ta·cean
- Pronunciation:
-
\si-ˈtā-shən\
- Function:
- noun
- Etymology:
- ultimately from Latin cetus whale, from Greek kētos
- Date:
- 1835
: any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion
— cetacean adjective
—
ce·ta·ceous
\-shəs\
adjective 
