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sheldrake

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shel⋅drake

  [shel-dreyk]
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–noun, plural -drakes, (especially collectively) -drake.
1. any of several Old World ducks of the genus Tadorna, certain species of which have highly variegated plumage.
2. any of various other ducks, esp. the goosander or merganser.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME sheldedrake, equiv. to sheld particolored + drake drake 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mer·gan·ser   (mər-gān'sər)   
n.  Any of various fish-eating diving ducks of the genus Mergus or related genera, having a slim hooked bill. Also called sheldrake.

[New Latin : Latin mergus, diver (from mergere, to plunge) + Latin ānser, goose; see ghans- in Indo-European roots.]
shel·drake   (shěl'drāk')   
n.  

  1. Any of various large Old World ducks of the genus Tadorna, especially T. tadorna, having predominantly black and white plumage. Also called shelduck.

  2. See merganser.


[Middle English shelddrake : scheld, variegated; see skel-1 in Indo-European roots + drake, drake.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sheldrake 
c.1325, from sheld- "variegated" + drake "male duck." First element cognate with M.Du. schillede, W.Flem. schilde, from schillen (Du. verschillen "to make different"), from P.Gmc. *skeli-, from PIE base *(s)kel- "to cut." This is considered the most likely origin, though Eng. sheld by itself is a dialect word attested only from 1508.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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