auk en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ɔːk/ (Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales)
- /ɔk/ (General-American)
- /ɔk/ (Scotland)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /oːk/ (Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard)
- /ɑk/ (cot-caught-merger)
Etymology
From Icelandic álka, from Old Norse alka (“auk”), from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“a kind of bird”). Cognate with Swedish alka (“auk”), Norwegian and Danish alke (“auk”), Swedish dialectal alla (“long-tailed duck”) (Clangula hyemalis, syn. Fuligula glacialis), Latin olor (“swan”), Ancient Greek ἐλέα (eléa, “marsh-bird”), Welsh alarch (“swan”).
Meanings
-
Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.
Further afield, these auks are also in dire straits: Norway has seen vertiginous crashes, with hundreds of thousands of adult puffins in the once-teeming colony of Røst struggling to fledge any chicks in recent years.
2018 June 20, Louise Tickle, The Guardian:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| awk | alternative | lexicographic | |
| alk | alternative | lexicographic | |
| auks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
little auk · auklet · parakeet auk · perroquet auk · paroquet auk · lesser auk · razor-billed auk · great auk
Synonyms
Translations (29)
fi ruokki (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ast pingüín (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ro pinguin nordic (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ru гага́рка (seabird of the family Alcidae) · de Alk (seabird of the family Alcidae) · sk alka (seabird of the family Alcidae) · hu alka (seabird of the family Alcidae) · cy carfil (seabird of the family Alcidae) · sv alka (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ja 海雀 (seabird of the family Alcidae) · cmn 海雀科 (seabird of the family Alcidae) · fr pingouin (seabird of the family Alcidae) · gv alk (seabird of the family Alcidae) · eo aŭko (seabird of the family Alcidae) · non alka (seabird of the family Alcidae) · gl arao romeiro (seabird of the family Alcidae) · pt torda (seabird of the family Alcidae) · nl alk (seabird of the family Alcidae) · bg гагарка (seabird of the family Alcidae) · hi अलका (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ca àlcid (seabird of the family Alcidae) · cs alka (seabird of the family Alcidae) · pl alka (seabird of the family Alcidae) · es alca (seabird of the family Alcidae) · mr अलका (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ro alcă (seabird of the family Alcidae) · it alca (seabird of the family Alcidae) · ga falcóg (seabird of the family Alcidae) · fo svartfuglur (seabird of the family Alcidae)