cormorant

English

A cormorant

Etymology

Middle English, from Old French cormaran (modern cormoran), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  corvus marīnus (literally “sea-raven”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔɹməɹənt/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔːməɹənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

cormorant (plural cormorants)

1. Any of various medium-large black seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae, especially the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo.
   • 1876, "Burmah" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 552:

     Aquatic birds of various kinds are very numerous, such as geese, darters (Flotus melanogaster), scissor-bills (Rhynchops nigra), adjutants (Leptoptilos argala), pelicans, cormorants, cranes (Grus antigone, in Burmese gyoja), whimbrels, plovers, and ibises.

2. A voracious eater; a glutton.
   • Alexander Pope (translator), The Odyssey

     When for the dear delight another pays, / His treasured stores those cormorants consume […]

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (voracious eater): see Thesaurus:glutton

Translations

seabird

• Ainu: ウリル (uriru)
• Arabic: غَاقِيَات m (ḡāqiyāt)
• Assamese: পানী কাউৰী (pani kauri), দৈকলা (doikola)
• Breton: morvran (br) f, morvaout m
• Bulgarian: дяволица f (djavolica), голям корморан m (goljam kormoran)
• Catalan: corb marí m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鸕鶿／鸬鹚 (zh) (lúcí), 鸬鹚 (zh) (lúcí)

• Cornish: morvran f
• Czech: kormorán (cs) m
• Danish: skarv (da) c, (great cormorant) storskarv c, ålekrage c
• Dutch: aalscholver (nl) m
• Faroese: skarvur m, (great cormorant) hiplingur m
• Finnish: merimetso (fi)
• French: cormoran (fr) m
• German: Kormoran (de) m
• Greek: κορμοράνος (el) m (kormorános)
• Greenlandic: oqaatsoq (Phalacrocorax carbo)
• Hawaiian: kakalakeke
• Hungarian: kormorán (hu)
• Icelandic: skarfur m
• Irish: broigheall m, cailleach dhubh f, fiach mara m, amplóir m (familiar)
• Italian: cormorano (it) m, marangone (it) m
• Japanese: 鵜 (ja) (う, u)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 가마우지 (ko) (gamauji)
• Latin: phalacrocorax m
• Latvian: jūras krauklis m
• Lithuanian: kormoranas (lt) m
• Macedonian: кормора́н m (kormorán)
• Manx: fannag varrey f, scarroo m, shag m, cormorant m, feeagh marrey m
• Mi'kmaq: mqatawapu anim
• Navajo: tónteel zhį́ʼii
• Norwegian: storskarv (no)
• Polish: kormoran (pl) m
• Portuguese: cormorão (pt) m, biguá m
• Romanian: cormoran (ro) m
• Russian: бакла́н (ru) m (baklán)
• Saanich: MÁŦEĆ
• Scottish Gaelic: sgarbh m, ballaire m, gairgeann m, ballaire-bòthain m
• Slovak: kormorán (sk) m
• Spanish: cormorán m
• Swedish: storskarv (sv)
• Tagalog: kasili, korbehon
• Telugu: నీరుకాకి (te) (nīrukāki), మద్గువు (te) (madguvu)
• Turkish: karabatak (tr)
• Ukrainian: баклан (uk) m (baklan)
• Welsh: mulfran f, morfran f

Adjective

cormorant (comparative more cormorant, superlative most cormorant)

1. Ravenous, greedy.
   • William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, Act I, Scene 1

     Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,

     Live regist'red upon our brazen tombs,

     And then grace us in the disgrace of death;

     When, spite of cormorant devouring Time,

     The endeavour of this present breath may buy

     That honour which shall bate his scythe's keen edge,

     And make us heirs of all eternity.

See also

• shag