eider duck

American  

noun

1. any of several large sea ducks of the genus Soamateria and allied genera of the Northern Hemisphere, the females of which yield eiderdown.

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Etymology

Origin of eider duck

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Animal life abounded on the frozen bay�flocks of little auks, eider duck, sportive seals and an occasional roving polar bear.

From Time Magazine Archive

The eider duck and the hair seal are disappearing, but on the word of Medical Missionary Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, the country is infested with mice "of many varieties."

From Time Magazine Archive

That is to say, it was really nothing more than the wing of an eider duck.

From Eskimo Folk-Tales by Worster, W. J. Alexander (William John Alexander)

In a crevice of the rock a fire was kindled, the saucepan half filled with sea water, and an eider duck John had knocked over with his oar was put into it to stew.

From North-Pole Voyages by Mudge, Zachariah Atwell

The eider duck plucks from its own breast the softest, of feather linings for its nest.

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple