auk

[ awk ]

/ ɔk /

noun

any of several usually black-and-white diving birds of the family Alcidae, of northern seas, having webbed feet and small wings.

Nearby words

augustine, augustinian, augustinian of the assumption, augustus, augustus caesar, auk, auklet, aulard, auld, auld lang syne, auld reekie

Compare great auk, razor-billed auk.

Origin of auk

1665–75; < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse alka

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for auk

Of the latter some have three toes, as the penguin, auk, &c.; others have four.
Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnus|William MacGillivray
Of all the Auk tribe, so far as my experience goes, the Puffin flies the most.
British Sea Birds|Charles Dixon
Aquatic birds of passage of the auk kind on our western coasts; called also razor-bills.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
Initially, he was a hunter-naturalist, but scientific enough to publish in the Auk and the Journal of Heredity.
Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest|J. Frank Dobie

Upon the whole, I thought it would not do to depend upon the auk.
The Land of Thor|J. Ross Browne

British Dictionary definitions for auk

auk

/ (ɔːk) /

noun

any of various diving birds of the family Alcidae of northern oceans having a heavy body, short tail, narrow wings, and a black-and-white plumage: order CharadriiformesSee also great auk, razorbill auk

little auk or dovekie a small short-billed auk, Plautus alle, abundant in Arctic regions

Word Origin for auk

C17: from Old Norse ālka; related to Swedish alka, Danish alke

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