Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several dark-colored diving ducks of the genus Melanitta of the Northern Hemisphere.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A large sea-duck of the genus Œdemia, belonging to the subfamily Fuligulinæ, having in the male the plumage black and a red gibbosity of the bill, as Œdemia nigra of Europe.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of northern sea ducks of the genus Oidemia.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any one of several species of northern sea ducks of the genera Oidemia and Melanitta.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun large black diving duck of northern parts of the northern hemisphere

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Origin uncertain.

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Examples

  • But the duck's name is scoter, not scooter as our solution said 1 August, page 28, G2.

    Corrections and clarifications 2011

  • Research associate Ron Therrien shows us around, pointing out such species as the ruddy duck, the Harlequin and the surf scoter.

    Duck, duck, owl: Patuxent research center is for the birds John Kelly 2010

  • Just offshore some mallard and pintail – birds usually found on fresh water – were bobbing up and down on the waves, along with two truly marine ducks, an eider and a common scoter.

    Birdwatch: Black redstart 2011

  • Research associate Ron Therrien shows us around, pointing out such species as the ruddy duck, the Harlequin and the surf scoter.

    Duck, duck, owl: Patuxent research center is for the birds John Kelly 2010

  • There are 100Hevi-Shot No. 2 pellets, fired from a 3½-inch 12-gauge load, in the estimated 30-inch circle I drew around the densest part of this pattern (I used the scoter for scale; they average 19 inches long from beak to tail).

    The Ultimate Guide to Patterning Your Shotgun for Waterfowl 2007

  • All of these incidents will force a scoter user onto the road which may mean risking their lives as drivers seem to think that because they are in a vehicle, that they always have the right of way.

    Archive 2009-10-01 Renee 2009

  • Predominant waterfowl species that breed in the region include the lesser scaup, pintail, scoter, and wigeon.

    Upper Yukon Tayga Province (Bailey) 2009

  • Other interlopers included 2 red-breasted mergansers, a single white-winged scoter, and a common loon.

    Archive 2009-05-01 2009

  • All of these incidents will force a scoter user onto the road which may mean risking their lives as drivers seem to think that because they are in a vehicle, that they always have the right of way.

    Fat Hatred and Disability on The Cleveland Show Renee 2009

  • Judging by the density of this pattern and how precisely it's centered on the surf scoter (which was 25 to 30 yards from the shooter when Coats took the photo), there's no question about what happened to the duck milliseconds after the camera shutter closed.

    The Ultimate Guide to Patterning Your Shotgun for Waterfowl 2007

Comments

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  • Citation on cognation.

    July 30, 2008