American merganser
- noun
- /əˈmɛrɪkən mɜrˈɡænzər/
- US
:
merganso americano
- Unlike other ducks, the American merganser has a slender, serrated bill.
Examples
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The American merganser can often be seen hunting for fish in northern lakes.
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The American merganser is often found in freshwater lakes.
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Birdwatchers spotted several American mergansers on the river this morning.
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Look at that American merganser over there!
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Birdwatchers spotted several American mergansers on the river this morning.
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The American merganser can often be seen hunting for fish in northern lakes.
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Unlike other ducks, the American merganser has a slender, serrated bill.
Synonyms
A North American diving duck with a long thin bill that catches 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
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'American' simply specifies the geographic variety of 'merganser' (a type of duck), so it denotes a merganser found in the Americas. This standard adjective + noun species naming is cross-linguistically common and therefore immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
American merganser may come from old words meaning a 'diving goose' — the part merganser suggests a bird that 'dives' into water for fish. That's why the name fits this long, saw-like beaked duck that hunts by diving.
