widgeon

or wig·eon

[ wij-uh n ]

/ ˈwɪdʒ ən /

noun, plural widg·eons, (especially collectively) widg·eon for 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.

Obsolete. a fool.

Nearby words

Origin of widgeon

1505–15; perhaps < an AF correspondent of French vigeon < Vulgar Latin; compare Medieval Latin vipiō kind of crane (derivative of vip- imitative of bird's cry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for widgeon

Of these six ducks, four were brown pintails (Dafila spinicauda) and two were Chiloe widgeon (Mareca sibilatrix).
Through the Heart of Patagonia|H. Hesketh Prichard
Soon a large flight came over, mixed up with mallard and widgeon.
Marie|H. Rider Haggard
The mallard duck, the widgeon, and the green-winged teal are tolerably abundant in the little estuaries of the river.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume 21|Various
"And nobody's had the gumption to fight 'em," said Mr. Widgeon.
Mr. Crewe's Career, Complete|Winston Churchill

A wild duck, or a widgeon, will require twenty or twenty-five minutes roasting, according to the size.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,|Mary Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for widgeon

widgeon

/ (ˈwɪdʒən) /

noun

a variant spelling of wigeon

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

Word Origin and History for widgeon

widgeon

migratory wild duck, 1510s, perhaps from some variant of French vigeon, which some trace to Latin vipionem (nominative vipio), "a kind of small crane," a Balearic word, perhaps imitative. OED, however, finds all this "very dubious."