balena

whale

noun bah-LEH-nah Less Common

Origin: From Latin balaena, from Greek phalaina.

Usage Note

Balena is the general word for whale. Balena azzurra is the blue whale. Italian also uses balenottera for rorqual whales and capodoglio for sperm whale. The verb balenare (to flash, as lightning) is unrelated — it comes from a different root.

Examples

"Abbiamo visto una balena dall'isola."

Natural Translation

We saw a whale from the island.

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