cormorant
[ kawr-mer-uh nt ]
/ ˈkɔr mər ənt /
noun
any of several voracious, totipalmate seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae, as Phalacrocorax carbo, of America, Europe, and Asia, having a long neck and a distensible pouch under the bill for holding captured fish, used in China for catching fish.
a greedy person.
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Nearby words
- corm,
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- corn,
- corn beef,
- corn belt,
- corn borer,
- corn bread
Origin of cormorant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cormorant
cormorant
/ (ˈkɔːmərənt) /
noun
any aquatic bird of the family Phalacrocoracidae, of coastal and inland waters, having a dark plumage, a long neck and body, and a slender hooked beak: order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, etc)
Word Origin for cormorant
C13: from Old French cormareng, from corp raven, from Latin corvus + -mareng of the sea, from Latin mare sea
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
cormorant
early 14c., from Old French cormarenc (12c., Modern French cormoran), from Late Latin corvus marinus "sea raven" + Germanic suffix -enc, -ing. The -t in English probably is from confusion with words in -ant. It has a reputation for voracity.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper