marabou stork
1
9.6
- noun
- /ˈmɛrəˌbu stɔrk/
:
marabú
- The marabou stork.
Examples
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There were a few Marabou storks standing around and a couple of crocodiles lying on the banks.
Academic text (1999) -
A marabou stork.
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We spotted several marabou storks scavenging for food near the riverbank.
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The large marabou stork gracefully waded through the shallow waters in search of carrion.
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In the wetlands, the marabou stork stood majestically, its black and white plumage glistening in the sun.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Large African stork that eats dead animals and has black and white feathers
A large African stork with black and white feathers that often eats dead animals
A large African black-and-white stork that eats dead animals and has soft feathers under its wings used to decorate clothes
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun compound where 'marabou' specifies a type or characteristic of the head noun 'stork', so the overall meaning ('a stork of the marabou type') is directly derivable from the parts. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift; cross-linguistically such modifier+noun species names are common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.
Etymology
Marabou stork may come from a word for a holy man called a 'marabout' because early visitors thought the tall, bare-necked bird looked like a man in loose robes. The bird's soft feathers were later used to trim hats and dresses, so 'marabou' also came to mean fluffy fashion trim.