Sperm whale \Sperm" whale`\ (Zool.)
   A very large toothed whale (Physeter macrocephalus), having
   a head of enormous size. The upper jaw is destitute of teeth.
   In the upper part of the head, above the skull, there is a
   large cavity, or case, filled with oil and spermaceti. This
   whale sometimes grows to the length of more than eighty feet.
   It is found in the warmer parts of all the oceans. Called
   also cachalot, and spermaceti whale.
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   Pygmy sperm whale (Zool.), a small whale (Kogia
      breviceps), seldom twenty feet long, native of tropical
      seas, but occasionally found on the American coast. Called
      also snub-nosed cachalot.

   Sperm-whale porpoise (Zool.), a toothed cetacean
      (Hyperoodon bidens), found on both sides of the Atlantic
      and valued for its oil. The adult becomes about
      twenty-five feet long, and its head is very large and
      thick. Called also bottle-nosed whale.
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Physeter \Phy*se"ter\ (f[imac]*s[=e]"t[~e]r), n. [L., fr. Gr.
   fyshth`r, fr. fysa^n to blow: cf. F. phys['e]t[`e]re.]
   [capitalized]
   1. (Zool.) The genus that includes the sperm whale (Physeter
      macrocephalus).
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   2. A filtering machine operated by air pressure.
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Ambergris \Am"ber*gris\ ([a^]m"b[~e]r*gr[=e]s), n. [F. ambre
   gris, i. e., gray amber; F. gris gray, which is of German
   origin: cf. OS. gr[^i]s, G. greis, gray-haired. See Amber.]
   A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the
   Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a
   morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale
   (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all
   cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash-gray,
   yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The
   floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and
   twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a
   white vapor at 212[deg] Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in
   perfumery. --Dana.
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cachalot \cach"a*lot\, n. [F. cachalot.] (Zool.)
   The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). It has in the top
   of its head a large cavity, containing an oily fluid, which,
   after death, concretes into a whitish crystalline substance
   called spermaceti. See Sperm whale.
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