Definition

To remove the skin or fat from an animal, especially a whale.

Example

The crew worked hard to flense the whale after the hunt.

Tense Forms

Conversation

Did you know that whalers used to flense the blubber from whales?

Yeah, I read that it was quite a messy job.

It must have been tough work to flense such large animals.

Definitely, but it was necessary for their livelihood back then.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Flense originates from Old Norse 'flensa', meaning to strip off the skin or blubber from a whale. The word describes the act of removing the outer layer, particularly in the context of processing whale blubber.

Memory Tip

Imagine stripping away the outer layer of something, like skin or blubber, which is what 'flense' means.

Visually Confused Words