Teal
/tiːl/noun
A small freshwater duck, or a greenish-blue color named after the bird.
Did you know?The color name likely developed from the bird’s name in English, and the bird itself traces back to a Germanic root that also lies behind other duck names across related languages.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
tēal
“A teal, a small freshwater duck”
Middle English
ME
tele
“A teal duck”
Early Modern English
English
teal
“A teal duck; later, the name of a blue-green color”
Modern English
English
teal
“A small duck of the genus Anas; also a blue-green color”