beluga
UK /bəˈluːɡə/ · US /bəˈluɡə/ noun
Forms belugas
- noun A whale, Delphinapterus leucas, found in the Arctic Ocean.
- noun A fish, Huso huso, that is a source of caviar, which is found in the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
Synonyms
beluga whale melonhead sea canary white whale whitefish European sturgeon hausen white sturgeon Acipenser huso Delphinapterus leucas
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian белу́га (belúga), from бе́лый (bélyj, “white”).
In modern standard Russian, белу́га (belúga) denotes the fish Huso huso only, while белу́ха (belúxa) denotes the cetacean.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Russ. bieluga a sort of large sturgeon, prop. white fish, fr. bieluii white.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “beluga”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details