auk

views updated May 14 2018

auk / ôk/ • n. a short-winged diving seabird found in northern oceans, typically with a black head and black and white underparts. The auk family (Alcidae) comprises the guillemots, murres, razorbills, puffins, and their relatives.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

auk

views updated May 17 2018

auk Squat-bodied sea bird of colder Northern Hemisphere coastlines. The flightless great auk (Pinguinus impennis), or the Atlantic penguin, became extinct in the 1840s; height: 76cm (30in). The razorbill auk (Alca torda) is the largest of living species. Family Alcidae.

World Encyclopedia

auk

views updated Jun 11 2018

auk XVII. — ON. álka.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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