goldeneye

American  

[gohl-duhn-ahy] / ˈgoʊl dənˌaɪ /

noun

plural

goldeneyes,

plural

goldeneye

1. either of two diving ducks, Bucephala clangula, of Eurasia and North America, or B. islandica Barrow's goldeneye, of North America, having bright yellow eyes.

2. Also called golden-eyed fly.  a lacewing of the family Chrysopidae.

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goldeneye British  

/ ˈɡəʊldənˌaɪ /

noun

1. either of two black-and-white diving ducks, Bucephala clangula or B. islandica, of northern regions

2. any lacewing of the family Chrysopidae that has a greenish body and eyes of a metallic lustre

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Etymology

Origin of goldeneye

First recorded in 1670–80; golden + eye

Example Sentences

Potential bird sightings include gadwalls and buffleheads, dazzling ducks like the common goldeneye and the red-breasted merganser and tons of gulls, including the laughing gull and the ring-billed gull.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2023

There were also 150 long-tailed ducks, 300 scoters, 40 goldeneye, 15 buffleheads, nine mallards, one red-breasted merganser, two kinds of gulls, 20 Canada geese, and a raft of maybe 900 scaups.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2016

We hadn�t gone a quarter mile before I dropped the first duck, a goldeneye, with my second shot of the day.

From Time Magazine Archive