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

See Examples For:

eider duck

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

Later two ptarmigan were spotted, and still later an eider duck.

From The Eternal Maiden by Harré, T. Everett

There the eider duck builds its nest and spends the brief summer of the Arctic.

From My Attainment of the Pole by Cook, Frederick A.

You sat on a wall, and watched a hawk flying and carrying an eider duck in its claws.

From Stories and Ballads of the Far Past Translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese) with Introductions and Notes by Kershaw, Nora

It is for the sake of the feathers sailors shoot these birds on the ice, for they are nearly as well feathered as an eider duck.

From Wild Adventures round the Pole The Cruise of the "Snowbird" Crew in the "Arrandoon" by Stables, Gordon