Anatid
/ˈæn.ə.tɪd/noun
A member of the duck family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans.
Did you know?Anatid ultimately preserves an ancient Indo-European waterfowl name also reflected in Latin anas, meaning “duck,” though its deeper origin remains debated.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂énh₂ts
“A reconstructed word traditionally associated with a duck or waterfowl; the reconstruction is not completely certain.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
νῆσσα (nēssa)
“Duck; a likely cognate often compared with Latin anas.”
Classical Latin
Latin
anas, anatis
“Duck; the genitive form anatis supplied the base for later scientific terminology.”
19th Century
Scientific Latin
Anatidae
“The taxonomic family name for ducks, geese, and swans, formed from Latin anas plus the family suffix -idae.”
19th Century
English
anatid
“A member of the family Anatidae; an English zoological adjective and noun.”
Modern English
English
anatid
“A duck, goose, or swan, or relating to that family.”