fish duck
- noun
- US
:
pato buceador
- The serrated bill of the fish duck is perfectly adapted for gripping slippery prey.
Examples
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The fish duck dived swiftly beneath the surface to catch a trout.
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Many birdwatchers observed a rare fish duck on the lake this morning.
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The fish duck is known for its unique appearance.
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Many fish ducks can be found near freshwater lakes.
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Many birdwatchers observed a rare fish duck on the lake this morning.
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The fish duck dived swiftly beneath the surface to catch a trout.
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The serrated bill of the fish duck is perfectly adapted for gripping slippery prey.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A large diving duck with a crest on its head and a narrow hooked bill that eats fish
A large duck that eats fish and lives by cold rivers in Europe and North America
A large diving duck that eats fish and has a long thin bill with tooth-like edges
A slim diving duck with a shaggy crest and reddish brown breast
A North American diving duck with a long thin bill that catches fish
A large diving duck in North America that hunts fish in lakes and rivers
A large diving duck with a bill that has saw-like edges for catching fish
A group of fish-eating ducks with narrow saw-edged bills
A group of ducks that eat fish and have narrow saw-edged bills
Ducks that dive to catch fish in cold northern waters
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is transparently compositional: 'fish' modifies 'duck' to indicate a type of duck associated with fish (i.e. a fish-eating or fish-hunting duck). This noun+noun modifier pattern is a standard and cross-linguistically common way to form animal types, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Fish duck comes from a simple picture: it is a duck that catches fish by diving and using a saw-like bill to hold slippery fish, so the name shows it 'eats fish'.