skua

[ skyoo-uh ]

noun

Also called bonxie. any of several large brown gull-like predatory birds of the genus Catharacta, related to jaegers, especially C. skua(great skua ), of colder waters of both northern and southern seas.
British. jaeger (def. 1).

Origin of skua

1670–80; <Faeroese skū(g)vur; cognate with Old Norse skūfr tassel, tuft, also skua (in poetry), akin to shove¹

Words Nearby skua

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use skua in a sentence

Giant petrels and skua gulls swarmed in flocks round the seals' and penguins' carcases.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
skua gulls mysteriously appeared, snow petrels hovered along the rocky ridges and odd seals landed on the wind-raked harbour ice.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
A venturesome skua gull appeared at lunch time, just as an observation for latitude was being taken.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
A very inquisitive skua gull—the first sign of life we had seen thus far—flew around the tent and settled on the snow near by.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
Masses of Adelie penguins and chicks constituted the main population, and skua gulls with eggs were also observed.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for skua

skua

/ (ˈskjuːə) /

noun

any predatory gull-like bird of the family Stercorariidae, such as the great skua or bonxie (Stercorarius skua) or arctic skua (S. parasiticus) both of which harass terns or gulls into dropping or disgorging fish they have caught

Origin of skua

C17: from New Latin, from Faeroese skūgvur, from Old Norse skūfr

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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