skua

[ skyoo-uh ]

noun
  1. Also called bonxie. any of several large brown gull-like predatory birds of the genus Catharacta, related to jaegers, especially C. skua(great skua ), of colder waters of both northern and southern seas.

  2. British. jaeger (def. 1).

Origin of skua

1
1670–80; <Faeroese skū(g)vur; cognate with Old Norse skūfr tassel, tuft, also skua (in poetry), akin to shove1

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How to use skua in a sentence

  • At this moment the great skua who had robbed the puffin of its fish came in sight of his nest.

    Neighbors Unknown | Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for skua

skua

/ (ˈskjuːə) /


noun
  1. any predatory gull-like bird of the family Stercorariidae, such as the great skua or bonxie (Stercorarius skua) or arctic skua (S. parasiticus) both of which harass terns or gulls into dropping or disgorging fish they have caught

Origin of skua

1
C17: from New Latin, from Faeroese skūgvur, from Old Norse skūfr

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012