old squaw

American  

Or oldsquaw

noun

1. a sea duck, Clangula hyemalis, of Arctic and subarctic regions.

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old squaw British  

noun

1. Also called: oldwife.  a long-tailed northern sea duck, Clangula hyemalis, having dark wings and a white-and-brown head and body

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Etymology

Origin of old squaw

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

old squaw

The flowers were gone; the birds flocked in great clouds, and among them were eider and old squaw ducks that kept to the rivers and beaches except when they migrated south.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

He proved to be the commandant of Sandusky, who, having, as before mentioned, been adopted by the Indians, and married to an old squaw, now seized the first opportunity of escaping from her embraces.

From The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada by Parkman, Francis

Of the old squaw, Winganameo, who had taught her, Of the young bucks who had danced around the campfires.

From Pocahontas. A Poem by Castleman, Virginia Carter

He was devotedly cared for by an old squaw, the most skilled nurse in all the Ottawa tribe, and by a young warrior whom he came to know as Atoka.

From At War with Pontiac The Totem of the Bear by Munroe, Kirk

What more might have come Lydia did not know for an old squaw came tottering into the fire glow.

From Lydia of the Pines by Morrow, Honoré