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Glite Dictionary
pintail

pintail

1 7.5
A duck with a long neck and pointed tail feathers
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪnˌteɪl/
translation icon : pato de pico puntiagudo
  • Hunters often admire the beauty of pintails as they take to the skies in search of food.
  • pintail duck
  • northern pintails
  • pintail drake

Examples

  • The pintail is easily recognized by its long, pointed tail and elegant neck.

  • As well as another lifer: Northern Pintail!

    Blog text (14)

  • Based on the brief glimpse I got of the bird, it was likely a Northern Pintail, another locally unusual species, one that I had only seen from the yard once before.

    Blog text (34)

  • After an hour or two, we’d taken our legal limit of redheads, as well as a pintail or two.

    Blog text (22)

  • They sound like ducks, sure, but pintails sure don't sound like a mallard, just as much as I don't sound like you when I talk.

    The Blind (2023)

  • The left path took me to the birds: a pintail duck sitting in the dust, a turkey in a swarm of flies, a ring-necked pheasant with a broken tail, and two chickens and transient sparrows, all in one enclosure.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • During the spring migration, a flock of pintails can often be seen gliding gracefully across the water.

Synonyms

Anas acuta
vspintail
  • Specialized
9.9

A duck with a long neck and pointed tail feathers

is the common everyday name used instead of the formal Latin name
pin-tailed duck
vspintail
8.6

A duck with a long neck and long thin tail feathers

is a broader description that does not stress river habitat

Surface Forms

pintail singular
pintails plural

Morphology

pintail = pin + tail (semi-transparent) = pin + tail

The compound clearly describes a 'pointed tail' (pin + tail), but the full meaning as the name of a specific duck species is a specialized extension not fully predictable from the components alone.

Etymology

The word pintail comes from old words point and tail, meaning 'pointed tail'. That's why this duck is called a pintail: it has very long, thin, pointed tail feathers.