semipalmated
- adjective
- /ˌsɛmiˈpɑːlmeɪtɪd/
- Specialized
:
semipalmado
- A little file of five semipalmated plovers with two winter plumage ruddy turnstones following march along the gulfside swash, all business, moving at about three hundred per.
Examples
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In the wetlands, I spotted a semipalmated sandpiper wading gracefully as it searched for food.
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The record for flight time and economy of fuel is held by a banded semipalmated sandpiper, which, with only 23 percent fat (eight grams), flew from Maine to Guyana in two days.
Academic text (1992) -
PHOTO: After breeding in northern Canada, semipalmated sandpipers fly to the Atlantic coast and then over the western Atlantic to Venezuela and beyond.
Academic text (1992) -
The semipalmated sandpiper uses its partially joined toes to navigate through shallow waters.
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Among the shorebirds, the semipalmated plovers are easily recognized by their unique webbed toes.
Synonyms
4
3.1
Having skin between the toes and fingers, like a duck or frog
1
3.7
Having toes joined by skin to help an animal swim, like a duck or frog
Skin joins the toes to help the animal swim
How Webbed
Surface Forms
Morphology
semipalmated = palmated (semi-transparent) = semi + palm + ated
The word is formed transparently from 'semi-' plus a specialized adjective base, but the zoological sense of 'palmated' is not everyday vocabulary.
Etymology
Semipalmated comes from the parts semi- ('half') and palm ('palm of the hand'), giving the image of a 'half palm' between the toes. So, semipalmated describes toes that are partly joined by a web, which helps birds swim and walk on muddy ground.