Guanay
/ɡwəˈnaɪ/noun
A South American cormorant, especially the species Phalacrocorax bougainvillii, famous for producing guano.
Did you know?Guanay colonies on Peru’s coast produced guano so valuable during the nineteenth century that nations fought over seabird nesting islands and their accumulated waste.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Quechua
wanay
“A Quechua-associated name traditionally connected with the guanay seabird; the precise original sense is uncertain.”
16th–17th Century
Spanish
guanay
“A name used in Spanish for the Peruvian cormorant.”
19th Century
English
guanay
“An English zoological borrowing for the South American or Peruvian cormorant.”
Modern English
English
guanay
“The guanay cormorant, particularly Phalacrocorax bougainvillii.”
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