Mergansers
/ˈmɜːr.ɡən.sərz/noun
Mergansers are fish-eating ducks with narrow, serrated bills.
Did you know?The name was historically tangled with Latin *mergus* (“diver”), because people grouped these sleek waterbirds with diving birds long before modern taxonomy separated them.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
mergus
“a diver; a diving waterbird”
Late Latin
Latin
merganser
“a diving duck or merganser-like bird”
Middle English
English
merganser
“a diving bird or duck”
Modern English
English
mergansers
“plural of merganser: fish-eating ducks with serrated bills”