widgeon

American  

[wij-uhn] / ˈwɪdʒ ən /

Or wigeon

noun

• widgeons,
  plural
• widgeon
  plural

1. any of several common freshwater ducks related to the mallards and teals in the genus Anas, having metallic green flight feathers, a white wing patch, and a buff or white forehead, including A. penelope of Eurasia and North Africa, A. sibilatrix of South America, and the baldpate, A. americana, of North America.

2. Obsolete. a fool.

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widgeon British  

/ ˈwɪdʒən /

noun

1. a variant spelling of wigeon

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• widgeon
  plural
• widgeons
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of widgeon

First recorded in 1505–15; perhaps from an Anglo-French correspondent of French vigeon, from Vulgar Latin; compare Medieval Latin vipiō “kind of crane” (derivative of vip- imitative of a bird's cry)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

widgeon widgeons

Also spotted, but in fewer numbers, were snow geese, buffleheads, redheads, goldeneyes, American widgeon, ruddy, ring-necked, canvasbacks, scaup and wood ducks.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 15, 2015

Geese, black ducks, mallard, teal and widgeon have darkened the skies over the bay and fattened themselves in its marshes.

From Time Magazine Archive

The mallard and widgeon, coming in high with the gale behind, were gone before they had arrived.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

The widgeon, who had slept on water, came whistling their double notes, like whistles from a Christmas cracker.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Two or three widgeon hung in one of them, and, far away to the eastward, a fly-like man was plodding over the slob in tiny persistence, to collect his bag.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

From Susquehanna Flats to the Suisun marshes and from the Kankakee marshes to Pas a l'Outre all species of wild waterfowl had been scarce; canvasbacks, redheads, ruddy ducks, teals, gadwalls, widgeons, shovelers especially so.

From Time Magazine Archive

The blue and green-winged teal had already begun to fly; canvasbacks, mallards, widgeons, pintails, shovelers and redheads would follow soon, before and with the frost.

From Time Magazine Archive

As to wild fowls, we have a few teams of ducks bred in the moors where the snipes breed; and multitudes of widgeons and teals in hard weather frequent our lakes in the forest.

From The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White

The wild-ducks and widgeons are where the waters meet; The personators of your ancestors feast and are honoured.

From The Shih King From the Sacred Books of the East Volume 3 by James Legge

The heron stalked to and fro between the bull-polls; the ducks swam in and out; the moor-hens took up their residence; and in winter the widgeons and snipes visited the place in myriads.

From World's End A Story in Three Books by Richard Jefferies

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