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

There are more palatable things than bear or eider duck, yet I know many persons to whom snails, olive oil, and paté de fois gras are more repugnant.

From The First Landing on Wrangel Island With Some Remarks on the Northern Inhabitants by Rosse, Irving C. (Irving Collins)

That one is the famous eider duck that provides the down, the eider-down under which our fine ladies sleep; isn't it pretty?

From The Magic Skin by Marriage, Ellen

And so they sailed out to those islands, which lie far out at sea, and there they caught eider duck in snares, and gathered eggs, and were soon ready to turn homeward again.

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

A hawk flies 150 miles per hour; an eider duck 90 miles; a pigeon, 40 miles.

From The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference by Triemens, Joseph