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Glite Dictionary
old squaw

old squaw

9.9
A sea duck with a long tail found in northern North America
  • noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : pato de cola larga
  • The old squaw is known for its distinctive long tail and striking plumage.

Examples

  • During our birdwatching trip, we were excited to identify an old squaw among the other waterfowl.

  • We spotted several old squaw ducks swimming gracefully in the icy waters of the bay.

  • THE OLD SQUAWS HAVE BEEN COTTONING UP TO THEM ALL MORNING.

    The Affairs of Martha (1942)

Synonyms

oldwife
vsold squaw
  • US
9.9

A sea duck with a long tail and black and white feathers

is the older common name now largely replaced by the modern common name
Clangula hyemalis
vsold squaw
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea duck with a long tail that lives in cold northern seas

is the informal historic name rather than the formal scientific term

Surface Forms

old squaw singular
old squaws plural

Morphology

old + squaw

The compound refers to a specific species of duck and this meaning is not derivable from the literal words 'old' (age) and 'squaw' (an archaic/pejorative term for a woman); a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not infer a bird species. Additionally, 'squaw' is not a transparent lexical element (it is obsolete/offensive in many contexts and not semantically associated with ducks), so the phrase is idiomatic and unpredictable.

Etymology

Old squaw may come from early people who heard the duck's loud, chattering call and thought it sounded like an old woman's voice. That's why they called the bird old squaw, though today it is usually called the 'long-tailed duck'.