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skua

 - 4 dictionary results

sku⋅a

  [skyoo-uh]
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–noun
1. Also called bonxie. any of several large brown gull-like predatory birds of the genus Catharacta, related to jaegers, esp. C. skua (great skua), of colder waters of both northern and southern seas.
2. British. jaeger (def. 1).
Origin:
1670–80; < Faeroese skū(g)vur; c. ON skūfr tassel, tuft, also skua (in poetry), akin to shove 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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jae·ger   (yā'gər)   
n.  

  1. also (jā'gər) Any of several Arctic and Boreal sea birds of the genus Stercorarius that harass smaller birds and snatch the food they drop. Also called skua.

  2. A huntsman or hunting attendant.


[German Jäger, hunter, jaeger, from Middle High German jeger, from Old High German jagāri, from jagōn, to hunt.]
sku·a   (skyōō'ə)   
n.  

  1. Any of several large predatory sea birds of the genus Catharacta related to the jaeger, especially the great skua.

  2. Chiefly British See jaeger.


[New Latin, alteration of Faroese *skūvur, from Old Norse skūfr, tassel, seagull.]
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

skua 
"predatory gull," 1678, from Faeroese skugvur, related to O.N. skufr "seagull, tuft, tassel," and possibly to skauf "fox's tail."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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