wigeon

[wij-uh n]

noun, plural wig·eons, (especially collectively) wig·eon.

Nearby words

widgeon

or wig·eon

[wij-uh n]

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.

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 wigeon

Thus, one broadside to-day realized 32 wigeon, and another should have done better, but for a "hang-fire."
Wild Spain (Espaa agreste)|Abel Chapman
The wigeon realises his advantage and sticks to the shallow—the raptor ever trying to force him to the deep.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman
The same remarks may be said to apply to the Teal, the Wigeon, and some few others.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires|Charles Dixon
Wigeon arrive from the end of September onwards, the great influx occurring during the first fortnight of November.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman

This applies chiefly to wigeon, but we have frequently observed the same trait in pintail and occasionally in other species.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for wigeon

wigeon

widgeon

noun

a Eurasian duck, Anas penelope, of marshes, swamps, etc, the male of which has a reddish-brown head and chest and grey and white back and wings

American wigeon or baldpate a similar bird, Anas americana, of North America, the male of which has a white crown

Word Origin for wigeon

C16: of uncertain origin

widgeon

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 wigeon

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."