whalefall

See also: whale fall

English

Etymology

From whale +‎ fall, possibly modelled after snowfall. Compare also marine snow.

Noun

whalefall (plural whalefalls)

  1. A whale carcass that has fallen to the ocean floor.
    • 2007 December 18, Henry Fountain, “Whales Are Tasty, but Bone-Eating Worms Might Not Discriminate”, in New York Times‎[1]:
      But the ocean floor is not exactly wall-to-wall whalefalls.
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