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Glite Dictionary
black duck

black duck

1 6.0
A dark brown duck found in eastern North America
  • noun
  • /blæk dʌk/
  • US
translation icon : pato negro
  • black duck and mallard
  • decline of the black duck
  • black duck population

Examples

  • Many birdwatchers visit the region hoping to see the rare black duck.

  • The black duck can be difficult to distinguish from female mallards.

  • We spotted a black duck swimming near the edge of the marsh.

  • Look at that black duck!

  • I saw a black duck swimming in the pond.

  • The black duck is often found near marshes and swamps in northeastern United States.

  • Many birdwatchers travel to observe the elusive black duck in its natural habitat.

  • The black duck displays a distinctive dark plumage that helps it blend into wetland environments.

Synonyms

Anas rubripes
vsblack duck
  • Specialized
9.9

A medium-sized dark brown duck that lives in the northeastern United States and Canada

is the general term for dusky-brown native ducks rather than the species name
Anas anatum
vsblack duck
  • Specialized
9.9

The Latin name for the American black duck

is the everyday descriptive name for the same bird instead of a formal label

Surface Forms

black duck singular
black ducks plural

Morphology

black + duck

The meaning is directly built from the adjective + noun composition: a duck that is black (i.e. dark-coloured), so a B1 learner who knows 'black' and 'duck' can infer the referent. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common noun phrase (color + animal) even if it also names a specific species, so the sense is fully transparent.

Etymology

Black duck comes from the simple idea that the bird's feathers are dark: the word black describes the color and duck names the bird. That's why today black duck means 'a dark-colored duck'.