Illustration of beluga
- beluga 2
beluga
noun
be·lu·ga bə-ˈlü-gə 
1
: a large white sturgeon (Huso huso synonym Acipenser huso) of the Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and their tributaries
also : caviar processed from beluga roe compare osetra, sevruga
2
[Russian belukha, from belyĭ] : a toothed whale (Delphinapterus leucas) of arctic and subarctic waters having a fusiform body that is about 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 5.0 meters) long and white when mature
called also white whale
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Earlier this month, Olivier Morin, a photographer with Agence France-Presse, traveled to the town of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, to spend time observing beluga whales. 
Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2022 Although rubbing behavior has also been observed in other cetaceans, such as orcas and beluga whales, examples of dolphins rubbing themselves on corals are rare. Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 19 May 2022 Elsewhere in Murmansk Fjord, and not shown to reporters, is another dimension of the Russian military buildup: a secretive program to train seals and beluga whales for as-yet unknown missions. New York Times, 22 May 2021 Elsewhere in Murmansk Fjord, and not shown to reporters, is another dimension of the Russian military buildup: a secretive program to train seals and beluga whales for as-yet unknown missions. BostonGlobe.com, 22 May 2021 The beluga whale, which normally lives at sea in colder Arctic or subarctic waters, wandered in the mouth of the Seine by Le Havre last week, and started swimming in the freshwater upstream toward Paris. Sam Schechner, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2022 Nation/World PARIS — French environmentalists will try to move a dangerously thin beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River last week to a saltwater river basin Tuesday to try and save its life. Thomas Adamson, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Aug. 2022 French environmentalists prepared Tuesday to move a beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River last week to a saltwater basin in Normandy, hoping to save the life of the dangerously thin marine mammal. Thomas Adamson, ajc, 9 Aug. 2022 For example, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA Fisheries are researching how to reverse the decline of a vulnerable beluga whale population in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 July 2022 See More
Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2022 Although rubbing behavior has also been observed in other cetaceans, such as orcas and beluga whales, examples of dolphins rubbing themselves on corals are rare. Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 19 May 2022 Elsewhere in Murmansk Fjord, and not shown to reporters, is another dimension of the Russian military buildup: a secretive program to train seals and beluga whales for as-yet unknown missions. New York Times, 22 May 2021 Elsewhere in Murmansk Fjord, and not shown to reporters, is another dimension of the Russian military buildup: a secretive program to train seals and beluga whales for as-yet unknown missions. BostonGlobe.com, 22 May 2021 The beluga whale, which normally lives at sea in colder Arctic or subarctic waters, wandered in the mouth of the Seine by Le Havre last week, and started swimming in the freshwater upstream toward Paris. Sam Schechner, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2022 Nation/World PARIS — French environmentalists will try to move a dangerously thin beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River last week to a saltwater river basin Tuesday to try and save its life. Thomas Adamson, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Aug. 2022 French environmentalists prepared Tuesday to move a beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River last week to a saltwater basin in Normandy, hoping to save the life of the dangerously thin marine mammal. Thomas Adamson, ajc, 9 Aug. 2022 For example, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA Fisheries are researching how to reverse the decline of a vulnerable beluga whale population in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Russian, from belyĭ white; akin to Greek phalios having a white spot — more at bald
First Known Use
1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1