Eider Duck
/ˈaɪ.dər dʌk/noun
A large northern sea duck, especially the common eider, known for its soft insulating down.
Did you know?Eiderdown has been carefully gathered from abandoned nests for centuries, especially in Iceland, where traditional collection avoids killing the birds.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*dūkaną
“To dive or plunge downward; the likely ancestral verb behind duck.”
Old English
Old English
duce
“A diving water bird; literally associated with the action of diving.”
Old Norse
Old Norse
æðr
“The eider, a northern sea duck.”
Middle English
Middle English
duke / dyk
“Forms related to the diving bird name that developed into duck.”
16th Century
English
eider
“The name of the northern sea duck, borrowed through Scandinavian and Low German forms from Old Norse æðr.”
Modern English
English
eider duck
“A compound name for an eider, emphasizing that it is a duck.”