Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🐟 A tropical fish 🦆 A sea duck
oldwife

oldwife

9.9
A sea duck with a long tail and black and white feathers
  • noun
  • /ˈoʊldˌwaɪf/
  • US
translation icon : pato de cola larga
  • The oldwife is easily recognized by its long tail and striking plumage.

Examples

  • Flocks of oldwives migrate southward as winter approaches.

  • The oldwife is often spotted along the northern coast.

  • Birdwatchers spotted an oldwife feeding near the rocky shoreline.

  • Many oldwives migrate south for the winter.

  • Birdwatchers spotted an oldwife feeding near the rocky shoreline.

  • Flocks of oldwives migrate southward as winter approaches.

  • The oldwife is easily recognized by its long tail and striking plumage.

Synonyms

Clangula hyemalis
vsoldwife
  • Specialized
9.9

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

is the common everyday name rather than the scientific label
old squaw
vsoldwife
  • NSFW
9.9

A sea duck with a long tail found in northern North America

is the more current common name used instead of the older one

Surface Forms

oldwife singular
oldwives plural

Morphology

oldwife = old + wife (opaque) = old + wife

Though transparently built from 'old' + 'wife', the term is an established bird name and its sense cannot be derived from the components by a typical learner.

Etymology

Oldwife (duck) is an old name for the long-tailed duck that people think comes from the bird's loud, clear call, which sounded to some like a 'woman' calling. So, to remember the name, think of the duck's voice and the parts old + wife, which point to that human-like call.