Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various parrots of the genera Ara and Anodorhynchus of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long saber-shaped tails, curved powerful bills, and usually brilliant plumage.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A large American parrot of the family Psittacidæ and subfamily Arinæ, having a very long graduated tail and the face partly bare of feathers. The macaws are among the largest and most magnificent of the parrot tribe; but they are less docile than most parrots, and their voice is exceedingly harsh. The species are numerous, all inhabiting tropical or subtropical America, especially the former. See
Ara .
Wiktionary
- n. Any of various parrots of the genera Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Orthopsittaca, Primolius and Diopsittaca of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long sabre-shaped tails, curved powerful bills, and usually brilliant plumage.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) Any parrot of the genus Ara, Sittace, or Macrocercus. About eighteen species are known, all of them found in Central and South America. They are large and have a very long tail, a strong hooked bill, and a naked space around the eyes. The voice is harsh, and the colors are brilliant and strongly contrasted; they are among the largest and showiest of parrots. Different species names have been given to the same macaw, as for example the Hyacinthine macaw, which has been variously classified as Anodorhyncus hyacynthinus, Anodorhyncus maximiliani, and Macrocercus hyacynthinus.
WordNet 3.0
- n. long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America and South America; among the largest and showiest of parrots
Etymologies
- Portuguese macao, from Tupian (Wiktionary)
- Portuguese macaú, from macaúba, kind of palm tree, from Tupi macahuba, palm tree : maca, palm + ybá, tree. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The macaw was a baby, a little chunk of pink flesh with no feathers.”
“Then _I_ must go, my lady," said Marriott, angrily, "that is certain; for to part with my macaw is a thing I cannot do to please _any_ body.”
“Then I must go, my lady,' said Marriott, angrily, 'that is certain; for to part with my macaw is a thing I cannot do to please any body.”
“And Captain Flint, the green parrot, is played by a scarlet macaw.”
“As a direct result, "parrot patrols" organized by local communities in the region, 11 scarlet macaw chicks who were confiscated directly from poachers were provided care until they were old enough to fly and rejoin their flocks and families, instead of spending the rest of their lives in small cages.”
The Huffington Post: Will Travers: Canary in a Coal Mine? A Day to Save the Birds....
“For rain forests, I hope to be a grandfather that can walk in the rainforest with his grandson or daughter and tell him, "Well, this macaw nest on this shihuahuaco tree here, it's exactly the same way I remember it 20 or 40 or 60 years ago, and it's still producing chicks every year.”
The Huffington Post: Wendy Diamond: In The Jungle With PeruNature's Kurt Holle
“We also get to sell a service which allows us not only to profit in the business in usual sense, but also to invest in really cool things, like macaw research and conservation or sharing with indigenous communities committed to protecting their territories.”
The Huffington Post: Wendy Diamond: In The Jungle With PeruNature's Kurt Holle
“But Fleiss' three-year stint in jail, run-ins with exes like Tom Sizemore and struggles with drugs sound almost normal compared to her other addiction: Caring for more than 20 exotic macaw parrots.”
Exclusive: Heidi Fleiss on Her New Animal Planet Show Prostitutes to Parrots
“But the loss of species also including the Hawaiian crow and Jamaican red macaw may yet help currently endangered birds, hope the organisers of an ambitious multimedia art project.”
The Guardian: Ghosts of Gone Birds: exhibition enlists artists to save endangered species
“Comparison of the skull of Psittacosaurus gobiensis and a modern-day dinosaur, the macaw.”
Spock, Obama, the Kwisatz Haderach, and decriminalizing evolution.
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘macaw’.
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Gene Wolfe
Please contribute your favorite words from any of Gene Wolfe’s books to this prize-winning list.
In case you come across words in this list which are too commonplace to fit in, please ...gallipot, roost, badelaire, oblesque, execration, dhole, amschaspand, arctother, chalcedony, penitence, asimi, autarch and 839 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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imogen's Words
coagitate, cloche, harum-scarum, foxglove, cryptolect, cant, roux, angora, duff, ulysse, schadenfreude, pepperpot and 315 more...
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•Open List: I Wonder What Reesetee's ...
macaw, mudhen, squop, flammulated, obsidian, squarehead, parsnip, sprocket, bloviate, fantods
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Favorite Five-Letter Words
Just what it sounds like. My favorites. Five letters.
ennui, barfy, samba, schwa, beefy, chunk, queef, spasm, skulk, bowel, elbow, fruit and 235 more...
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Stately Animals
Animals and birds of nations and states. Also see Stately Plants
lion, eagle, fennec fox, dragon, blue whale, magnificent friga..., cougar, kangaroo, emu, black eagle, orca whale, flamingo and 233 more...
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botello360's list
ruminate, steel, bifurcation, arrivederci, portage, tactile, ruminant, rift, anecdotage, diacritic, cud, hull and 399 more...
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Still More Bird Wirds
A work in progress....Birds from around the world (other than endemic to North America).
barbet, hornbill, trogon, bee-eater, bristlehead, wren-babbler, stubtail, blackeye, bush warbler, cassowary, bowerbird, bird-of-paradise and 722 more...
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pyeplant's Words
giblet, crackerjack, pocket, hoosier, chopsaw, slew, ratchet, pantuflas, wigwam, kettle, winter, dirigible and 44 more...
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menagerie
Tweets
Looking for tweets for macaw.

reesetee Magnificent creatures. :-) Aug 24, 2008
oroboros Blue macaw Aug 23, 2008