marabou

American  

[mar-uh-boo] / ˈmær əˌbu /

noun

1. any of three large storks of the genus Leptoptilus, of Africa or the East Indies, having soft, downy feathers under the wings and tail that are used for making a furlike trimming for women's hats and garments.

2. one of the feathers.

3. the trimming or material made of the feathers.

4. thrown silk that can be dyed without being scoured.

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marabou British  

/ ˈmærəˌbuː /

noun

1. a large black-and-white African carrion-eating stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, with a very short naked neck and a straight heavy bill See also adjutant bird

2. a down feather of this bird, used to trim garments

3. 1. a fine white raw silk

   2. fabric made of this

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Etymology

Origin of marabou

1815–25; < French marabout literally, marabout

Example Sentences

But this is not a blood-and-guts show business exposé — it’s a diaphanous portrait of a woman who, like Anderson herself, wafts through life like a marabou feather.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025

The devastation has already seen flocks of marabou storks and other birds that perched and nested on the trees migrate to tall buildings in the city centre.

From BBC • Nov. 26, 2021

Style and stardom collided in a conflagration of marabou, lace and lamé bathed in pink and purple marquee lights.

From New York Times • Nov. 3, 2021

Some of the best pieces felt like a hybrid of eras - a blazer with marabou sleeves, or a frilled dance floor-worthy skirt reimagined in denim.

From The Guardian • Feb. 13, 2019

Gone was the old pulled-in waistline, but the old love of finery was out on her hat in ostrich plumes, a boa of marabou lending further elegance.

From Star-Dust by Hurst, Fannie