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  1. auk love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Any of several diving sea birds (family Alcidae) of northern regions, such as the razor-billed auk, having a chunky body, short wings, and webbed feet.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A diving bird belonging to the family Alcidæ and the order Pygopodes, characterized by having 3 toes, webbed feet, and short wings and tail. Originally the name was specifically applied to the great auk, or garefowl, Alca impennis, which became extinct about 1844, notable as the largest bird of the family and the only one deprived of the power of flight by reason of the smallness of its wings, though these were as perfectly formed as in other birds. It was about 30 inches long, the length of the wing being only about 6 inches. Its color was dark-brown above and white below, with a large white spot before the eye. It abounded on both coasts of the North Atlantic, nearly or quite to the arctic circle, and south on the American side to Massachusetts. The name came to be also specifically applied to the razor-billed auk, Alca or Utamania torda, a similar but much smaller species, about 15 inches long, with a white line instead of a spot before the eye; and finally, as a book-name, it was made synonymous with Alcidæ. Several North Pacific species still bear the name, as the rhinoceros auk (Ceratorhina monocerata), the crested auk (Simorhynchus cristatellus), etc.; but other special names are usually found for most of the birds of this family, as puffin, murre, guillemot, dovekie, auklet, etc. There are about 24 species belonging to the family. See Alca, Alcidæ.
  2. Same as awk.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Zoöl.) A name given to various species of arctic sea birds of the family Alcidæ. The great auk, now extinct, is Alca impennis (or Plautus impennis) . The razor-billed auk is Alca torda. See puffin, guillemot, and murre.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. black-and-white short-necked web-footed diving bird of northern seas

Etymologies

  1. From Icelandic álka, from Old Norse álka ("auk"), from Proto-Germanic *allakōn, *allōn (“sea-bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *el- (a kind of bird). Cognate with Swedish alka ("auk"), Danish alke ("auk"), Swedish dialectal alla (fuligula glacialis, "long-tailed duck"), Latin olor ("swan"), Ancient Greek ελέα (eléa, "marsh-bird"), Welsh alarch ("swan"). (Wiktionary)
  2. Norwegian alk, from Old Norse ālka. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘auk’.

Comments

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  • bilby The little auk is also known as the dovekie. Nov 26, 2008

  • pterodactyl The auk
    Is awkward
    When it walks --

    And when it talks
    It talks
    In squawks. Nov 14, 2008

  • reesetee Sarra, another RSPB fan here. :-) Nov 13, 2008

  • sarra Awwwwww. My heart is warmed, skip. Nov 13, 2008

  • skipvia I think it's been done, John. Remember Vi? Nov 13, 2008

  • reesetee That surprises you, John? ;-) Nov 13, 2008

  • john Nor to be confused with the text-processing language awk. Which was on my short list of kid's names back when I was trying to convince my wife that all our children should be named after Unix command-line utilities: little awk, his sister sed, etc. Didn't get very far with that one. Nov 13, 2008

  • skipvia Not to be confused with the Auke, an Alaska native group related to the Tlingit. Hence Auke Bay, Alaska (near Juneau), which has no auks. Nov 13, 2008

  • bilby I've never actually seen these birds. Does an auk walk aukwardly? Nov 13, 2008

  • sarra Reminds me I need to link the sound file back to the RSPB whence it was pilfered. Coff! (No-one had listed little auk…) Nov 13, 2008

  • reesetee Me? But why would I make a bird list? Silly idea.

    BAhahaha! I knew I couldn't keep a straight face on that one! Nov 13, 2008

  • bilby Yeah, you should make a bird list, rt. Nov 13, 2008

  • mollusque Ahem--so where is this list, reesetee? Nov 13, 2008

  • reesetee It's on my Coolest Birds Ever list. Even more charming in person. Nov 13, 2008

  • bilby The sound file is great! Auksome! What a Mad Clown Symphony! Nov 13, 2008

  • sarra I have a new-found love for the little auk (Alle alle). I present to you a tribute (ongoing). Nov 13, 2008

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‘auk’ has been looked up 4770 times, loved by 2 people, added to 22 lists, commented on 16 times, and has a Scrabble score of 7.