solant goose
- noun
- UK
:
ganso solant
- Fishermen often spotted the distinctive black wingtips of the solant goose from afar.
Examples
-
The cliffs were home to hundreds of solant geese nesting on narrow ledges.
-
Look at that solant goose diving for fish!
-
A solant goose soared above the waves, searching for fish.
-
The solant goose soared gracefully above the cliffs.
-
Fishermen often spotted the distinctive black wingtips of the solant goose from afar.
-
The cliffs were home to hundreds of solant geese nesting on narrow ledges.
-
A solant goose soared above the waves, searching for fish.
Synonyms
A large white sea bird called the northern gannet that lives by North Atlantic coasts
A very large white seabird with black wing tips found in the North Atlantic
A large white seabird with black-tipped wings that dives for fish
Surface Forms
Morphology
solant + goose
The modifier 'solant' is not a recognizable or analysable English word (marked '[Word not found in dictionary]'), so even if a learner knows 'goose' they cannot compositionally derive the specific species meaning. This is a lexicalized species name rather than a transparent compound, making the overall meaning arbitrary and opaque to learners.
Etymology
Solant goose: One popular story says the name comes from old fishermen who used the word 'solant' for the bare sea rocks or islands where these birds lived. They called the big, white diving bird a goose because of its size and noisy call, so today solant goose means this large seabird.
