Lexic.us

Definition of Eider

1. Noun. Duck of the northern hemisphere much valued for the fine soft down of the females.

Definition of Eider

1. n. Any species of sea duck of the genus Somateria, esp. Somateria mollissima, which breeds in the northern parts of Europe and America, and lines its nest with fine down (taken from its own body) which is an article of commerce; -- called also eider duck. The American eider (S. Dresseri), the king eider (S. spectabilis), and the spectacled eider (Arctonetta Fischeri) are related species.

Definition of Eider

1. Proper noun. A river in Germany, the boundary between Schleswig and Holstein. ¹

2. Noun. Any species of sea duck of the genera ''Polysticta'' or ''Somateria'', which lines its nest with fine down (taken from its own body). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Eider

1. a large sea duck [n -S]

Medical Definition of Eider

1. Any species of sea duck of the genus Somateria, especially. Somateria mollissima, which breeds in the northern parts of Europe and America, and lines its nest with fine down (taken from its own body) which is an article of commerce; called also eider duck. The American eider (S. Dresseri), the king eider (S. Spectabilis), and the spectacled eider (Arctonetta Fischeri) are related species. Eider down. [Cf. Icel. Aeoardun, Sw. Eiderdun, Dan. Ederduun] Down of the eider duck, much sought after as an article of luxury. Origin: Of Scand. Origin, cf. Icel aer; akin to Sw. Eider, Dan. Ederfugl. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Eider

Literary usage of Eider

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Voyage of the Vega Round Asia and Europe: With a Historical Review of by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1885)
"The eider, which some years ago was very numerous on Spitzbergen,1 has of late years considerably diminished in numbers, and perhaps will soon be completely ..."

2. The Auk: Quarterly Journal of Ornithology by American Ornithologists' Union, Nuttall Ornithological Club (1916)
"THE eastern coast of North America possesses four well defined species of eiders, although naturalists recognize only three. These are the American eider ..."

3. The Birds of Jamaica: Being a History of the Bird, Its Structure, and Habits by Philip Henry Gosse, Alfred Edmund Brehm, Richard Hill (1874)
"must see the eider Duck, so as to enable him to acknowledge his error. However beauteous and brilliant may be the plumage of the feathered denizens of ..."

4. A history of British birds by Francis Orpen Morris (1856)
"THE native haunts of the eider are the frozen regions of the north — Greenland ... An eider Duck was killed in Berkshire, at Sunning, during a very severe ..."

5. The Historical Geography of Europe by Edward Augustus Freeman (1881)
"Boundary of the eider, 1027-1806. Occasional homage of the Danish Kings. ... For a short time a German mark was formed north of the eider. ..."

6. A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (1901)
"Êh ! interj. (E.) ME ey. Cf. AS la; Du. he! G. et! F. г/4/ eider-duck. ... an eider-duck (ce pronounced like « in time) ; whence Dan. ederfugl ..."

7. The Birds of America by John James] [Audubon (1843)
"The fact that the eider Duck breeds on our eastern coasts, must be interesting to the American ornithologist, whose fauna possesses but few birds of this ..."

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