Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various fish-eating diving ducks primarily of the genus Mergus, having a slim hooked bill.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A bird of the genus Mergus or subfamily Merginǣ; family Anatidæ; a sawbill, garbill, or fishing-duck.
- noun [capitalized] A genus of Merginæ same as
Mergus .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any bird of the genus Mergus (Merganser), and allied genera of the subfamily Merginae. They are allied to the ducks, but have a sharply serrated bill, eat fish, and dive for food. Also called
fish duck . - noun the smew or white nun.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various
diving ducks of the generaMergus orLophodytes , which feed onfish and have a sharplyserrated bill.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large crested fish-eating diving duck having a slender hooked bill with serrated edges
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Well -- it's called a merganser in the books," said Mr. Kincaid.
The Adventures of Bobby Orde Stewart Edward White 1909
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Real chefs like a challenge, so when I walked through the door I'd have a common merganser on my duck strap.
Best Tasting Ducks 2009
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Hahaha, when I was reading the article I was thinking the same thing: Make it a challenge, take merganser!
Best Tasting Ducks 2009
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Real chefs like a challenge, so when I walked through the door I'd have a common merganser on my duck strap.
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Response: This is an adult female Brazilian merganser, Mergus octosetaceus, with her newly-hatched chicks in tow one is riding on her back.
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At a sale hosted by Christie's in New York in 2007, a record $856,000 was paid for a red-breasted merganser hen made in the 1870s by famed carver Lothrop Holmes, who worked as a cemetery superintendent in Massachusetts.
Decoy Market, After Decline, Tests Its Wings Meg Cox 2011
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Hahaha, when I was reading the article I was thinking the same thing: Make it a challenge, take merganser!
Best Tasting Ducks 2009
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Brazilian merganser, Mergus octosetaceus, photographed in Brasil, South America.
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This stamp by Albert Gilbert shows a hooded merganser.
Hunting Duck Stamps 2010
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A strong wind is pushing the surface water inland against the direction of the sea's retreat and the farther channel is specked with whitecaps among which the only bird currently visible – a merganser – bobs unconcernedly.
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