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duck1

  (dŭk) pronunciation
n.
  1. Any of various wild or domesticated swimming birds of the family Anatidae, characteristically having a broad, flat bill, short legs, and webbed feet.
  2. A female duck.
  3. The flesh of a duck used as food.
  4. Slang. A person, especially one thought of as peculiar.
  5. Chiefly British. A dear. Often used in the plural with a singular verb.

[Middle English doke, from Old English dūce, possibly from *dūcan, to dive. See duck2.]


duck2 (dŭk) pronunciation

v., ducked, duck·ing, ducks.

v.tr.
  1. To lower quickly, especially so as to avoid something: ducked his head as the ball came toward him.
  2. To evade; dodge: duck responsibility; ducked the reporter's question.
  3. To push suddenly under water. See synonyms at dip.
  4. Games. To deliberately play a card that is lower than (an opponent's card).
v.intr.
  1. To lower the head or body.
  2. To move swiftly, especially so as to escape being seen: ducked behind a bush.
  3. To submerge the head or body briefly in water.
  4. To evade a responsibility or obligation. Often used with out: duck out on one's family.
  5. Games. To lose a trick by deliberately playing lower than one's opponent.
n.
  1. A quick lowering of the head or body.
  2. A plunge into water.

[Middle English douken, to dive, possibly from Old English *dūcan; akin to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch dūken.]

ducker duck'er n.
duck3 (dŭk) pronunciation
n.
  1. A durable, closely woven heavy cotton or linen fabric.
  2. ducks Clothing made of duck, especially white trousers.

[Dutch doek, cloth, from Middle Dutch doec.]


duck4 (dŭk) pronunciation
n. In both senses also called DUKW.
  1. An amphibious military truck used during World War II.
  2. An amphibious truck used in emergencies, as to evacuate flood victims.

[Alteration (influenced by DUCK1) of DUKW.]


 
 
Thesaurus: duck

verb

  1. To avoid fulfilling or answering completely: dodge, evade, hedge, sidestep, skirt. See seek/avoid.
  2. To keep away from: avoid, burke, bypass, circumvent, dodge, elude, escape, eschew, evade, get around, shun. Idioms: fight shy of, give a wide berth to, have no truck with, keepstaysteerclear of. See seek/avoid.
  3. To plunge briefly in or into a liquid: dip, douse, dunk, immerge, immerse, souse, submerge, submerse. See enter/exit.

noun

    The act of swimming: dip, dunk, plunge, swim. See work/play.

 
Antonyms: duck

v

Definition: drop down; avoid
Antonyms: face, jump, meet


 

n.another term for DUKW.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

 

Any of various relatively small, short-necked, large-billed waterfowl (several genera in subfamily Anatinae, family Anatidae). The legs of true ducks (Anatinae) are placed rearward (as are those of swans), resulting in a waddling gait. Most true ducks differ from swans and true geese (see goose) in that male ducks molt twice annually, females lay large clutches of smooth-shelled eggs, and both sexes have overlapping scales on the skin of the leg and exhibit some differences between sexes in plumage and in call. All true ducks except shelducks and sea ducks (see diving duck) mature in the first year and pair only for the season. They are generally divided into three groups: perching ducks, dabbling ducks, and diving ducks. The whistling duck species, also called tree ducks, are not true ducks but are more closely related to geese and swans.

For more information on duck, visit Britannica.com.

 

[Old English dūcan]

The aquatic bird of the family Anatidae appears frequently in Romano-Celtic iconography and ritual and occasionally in early Irish tradition, but rarely elsewhere in the Celtic world. Like its fellow amphibian, the swan, the duck can be seen as mobile in two elements. The duck is linked with the anthropomorphic goddess Sequana of the source of the Seine near Dijon; she is portrayed standing in a boat with a duck's head on the prow; similar in design is a small bronze duck found at Milber Down, Devon. A figurine from Rotherly Down, England, shows a duck with a human head on the back, suggesting shape-shifting or metamorphosis. The Modern Irish word for duck is lacha; Scottish Gaelic tunnag, lach; Manx thunnag; Welsh hwyad; Cornish hōs; Breton houad.

 
common name for wild and domestic waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and swans. It is hunted and bred for its meat, eggs, and feathers. Strictly speaking, duck refers to the female and drake to the male. Ducks are usually divided into three groups: the surface-feeding ducks—such as the mallard, wood duck, black duck, and teal—which frequent ponds, marshes, and other quiet waters; the diving ducks—such as the canvasback, scaup, scoter, eider, and redhead—found on bays, rivers, and lakes; and the fish-eating ducks, the mergansers, with slender, serrated bills, which also prefer open water. The surface feeders take wing straight up, while the divers patter along the water's surface in taking off. Ducks make long migratory flights. At the time of the postnuptial molt, the power of flight is temporarily lost, and most of the Northern Hemisphere drakes assume “eclipse” plumage similar to that of the female. The ancestor of all domestic breeds (see poultry), except the Muscovy of South American origin, is the mallard, Anas boscas, which is found in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the mallard drake a white ring separates the bright-green head and neck from the chestnut breast, the back is grayish brown, the tail white, and the wings have blue patches. The wood duck, Aix sponsa, smaller than the mallard, nests in hollow trees; the drake is a varicolored, iridescent ornament to lakes and ponds. The blue-winged, green-winged, and European teals (genus Querquedula) are small ducks that fly with great speed. The canvasback, Fuligula vallisneria, is hunted widely for its palatable flesh. It has a chestnut head and neck, black bill and chest, and whitish back and underparts. A swift flier, it is also an expert swimmer and diver. It breeds from the Dakotas and Minnesota north and winters on the coastal waters along the entire continent. In northern countries a portion of the down with which the eider ducks line their nests is systematically collected, as are some of the eggs; since the eiders lay throughout the season, these are soon replaced. The mergansers, genus Mergus, also called sheldrakes or sawbills, are usually crested. They include the goosander and the smaller red-breasted merganser, both circumpolar in distribution, and the North American hooded merganser, similar to the Old World smew. Because their fish diet gives their flesh a rank taste, they are called by sportsmen “trash ducks.” Ducks are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Anseriformes, family Anatidae.


 

A member of the family Anatidae which includes many genera of ducks, geese and swans. See anas platyrhynchos, aylesbury, rouen, indian runner, khaki campbell, pekin, muscovy.

  • d. bush, d. plantGomphocarpus physocarpus. See also asclepias.
  • d. hepatitis — a highly infectious and fatal disease of young ducklings caused by an enterovirus, and characterized by hepatitis of sufficient severity to kill the birds within a few hours of signs of illness first being observed.
  • d. louseAnaticola crassicornis (slender duck louse), Trinoton querquedulae (large duck louse).
  • new d. disease — see Riemerella anatipestifer.
  • d. plague — see duck plague.
  • d. septicemia — see Riemerella anatipestifer.
  • d. sickness — type C botulism.
  • d. virus enteritis — see duck plague.


 
Nutritional Values: duck, roasted, flesh only

Quantity Energy
(calories)
Carbohydrates
(grams)
Protein
(grams)
Cholesterol
(milligrams)
Weight
(grams)
Fat
(grams)
Saturated Fat
(grams)
1/2 duck 445 0 52 197 221 25 9.2
 
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A water bird that has a broad, flat bill and webbed feet. Also: To lower the head or body suddenly; to evade.

pronunciation The hunters hid behind the blinds waiting for the ducks.

 
Wikipedia: duck
For duck as a food, see Duck (food); for other meanings, see Duck (disambiguation).


Ducks
A duck (female) and drake (male) Mallard
A duck (female) and drake (male) Mallard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Subfamilies

Dendrocygninae
Oxyurinae
Anatinae
Aythyinae
Merginae

Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than their relatives the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.

Most ducks have a wide flat beak adapted for dredging. They exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians[1], worms, and small molluscs.

Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.

Many species of duck are temporarily flightless while moulting; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration.

Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and Arctic Northern Hemisphere, are migratory; those in the tropics, however, are generally not. Some ducks, particularly in Australia where rainfall is patchy and erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy rain.

Types of ducks, and feeding

Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly.

Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land, or as deep as they can reach by up-ending without completely submerging. [1] They have along the inside of the beak tiny rows of plates called lamellae like a whale's baleen. These let them filter water out of the side of their beaks and keep food inside.

A few specialized species such as the smew, goosander, and the mergansers are adapted to catch large fish.

In the Mallard the tongue is a flat plate, and on the tongue's back end is a short liftable flap with about 18 short spikes on for pushing struggling prey and other food down its throat.

Breeding

The males (drakes) of northern species often have extravagant plumage, but that is moulted in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less sexual dimorphism.

Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively.

Predators

A worldwide group like the ducks has many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for avian hunters but also large fish like pike, crocodilians, and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as herons. Nests may also be raided by land-based predators, and brooding females may sometimes be caught unaware on the nest by mammals (e.g. foxes) and large birds, including hawks and eagles.

Adult ducks are fast fliers, but may be caught on the water by large aquatic predators. This can occasionally include fish such as the muskie in North America or the pike in Europe. In flight, ducks are safe from all but a few predators such as humans and the Peregrine Falcon, which regularly uses its speed and strength to catch ducks.

Etymology

The word duck (from Anglo-Saxon dūce), meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" (from Anglo-Saxon supposed *dūcan) meaning "to bend down low as if to get under something" or "to dive", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending (compare Dutch duiken, German tauchen = "to dive").

This happened because the older Anglo-Saxon words ened (= "duck") and ende (= "end") came to be pronounced the same: other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck" and "end": for example, Dutch eend = "duck", eind = "end", German ente = "duck", ende = "end"; this similarity goes back to Indo-European: compare Latin anas (stem anat-) = "duck", Lithuanian antis = "duck", Ancient Greek νησσα, νηττα (nēssa, nētta) = "duck"; Sanskrit anta = "end".

Hunting, domestication, and urbanization

Duck headcount in 2004
Enlarge
Duck headcount in 2004

In many areas, wild ducks of various species (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, by shooting, or formerly by decoys. From this came the expression "a sitting duck", which means "an easy target".

Ducks have many economic uses, being farmed for their meat, eggs, feathers, (particularly their down). They are also kept and bred by aviculturists and often displayed in zoos. All domestic ducks are descended from the wild Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, except the Muscovy Duck [2]. Many domestic breeds have become much larger than their wild ancestor, with a "hull length" (from base of neck to base of tail) of 30 cm (12 inches) or more and routinely able to swallow an adult British Common Frog Rana temporaria whole.

Foie gras is often made using the liver of domestic ducks, rather than of geese.

In a wildlife pond, the bottom over most of the area should be too deep for dabbling wild ducks to reach the bottom, to protect bottom-living life from being constantly disturbed and eaten by wild ducks dredging, and domestic ducks should not be allowed in.[citation needed]

Despite widespread misconceptions, most ducks other than female Mallards and domestic ducks do not "quack"; for example, the scaup makes a noise like "scaup", whence its name.

A common urban legend says that quacks do not echo[3], however this has been shown to be false.

Ducks have become an accepted presence in populated areas. Migration patterns have changed such that many species remain in an area during the winter months. In spring and early summer ducks sometimes influence human activity through their nesting; sometimes a duck pair nests well away from water, needing a long trek to water for the hatchlings: this sometimes causes an urgent wildlife rescue operation (e.g. by the RSPCA) if the duck nested somewhere unsuitable like in a small enclosed courtyard.

FAO reports that China is the top duck market in 2004 followed by Vietnam and other South East Asian countries.

Humor

In 2002, psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) finished a year-long LaughLab experiment, concluding that, of the animals in the world, the duck is the type that attracts most humor and silliness; he said "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck." The word "duck" may have become an inherently funny word in many languages because ducks are seen as a silly animal, and their odd appearance compared to other birds. Of the many ducks in fiction, many are silly cartoon characters like Daffy Duck (see the New Scientist article [2] mentioning humor in the word "duck").

In Mexico the word "Patito" (= "duckling") is used to refer to something unimportant, cheap, or generic.

in some silent cartoons. a picture of a duck is used to say "heads up".

"Quacks like a duck"

See also: Duck test

The expression "quacks like a duck" is sometimes a short form for "It looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck, it swims like a duck, so it's a duck.", used as proverbial to counter abstruse arguments that something is not what it appears to be.

The expression is part of a conceptual framework for testing (see Duck test) of some computer systems. In a sense, this usage results from a need for 'behavioral' analysis of an entity (virtual or otherwise) in an attempt to know what it is or whether it is what is 'claimed' of it (by itself or another). One can even argue several philosophical points (see Operational definition). But, it's really in 'computing' where entities emerge (evolve) that are not 'covered' by theory or some known 'meta' view where this idea has taken hold, especially in forms related to advanced techniques. (As aforementioned though, very few ducks actually do "quack")

Moche Duck. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.
Enlarge
Moche Duck. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.

Miscellaneous

  • Some ancient Egyptian art depicts some ships of the Sea Peoples with ornamental prows shaped like a duck's head.[4]
  • In 2007, a duck in Tallahassee, Florida survived a gunshot wound and two days stored in a refrigerator whilst presumed dead. [3] The duck was operated on and was again presumed dead after a bad reaction to anesthesia. After further procedure the duck lived. [4]
  • A rare genetic mutation sees some ducks born with four legs (ie six limbs): this is a type of polymelia. [5]
  • The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature.[5] They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted ducks in their art. [6]

Gallery

See also

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
    Wikibooks
    Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

     

    Dansk (Danish)
    1.
    n. - dukkert, dukning

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    befinde sig som en fisk i vand

    2.
    v. tr. - give en dukkert, dukke hurtigt, smutte uden om, undgå
    v. intr. - dykke, dukke sig hurtigt, trække sig, krybe
    n. - and, andefugl, andekød

    idioms:

    • duck out    stikke af fra

    3.
    n. - lærred, lærredsbukser

    4.
    n. - nulscore

    5.
    n. - amfibielandgangsfartøj

    6.
    n. - skat, snut

    Nederlands (Dutch)
    eend, soort katoenen stof, vreemde aandoenlijke snuiter, score van nul (slagman in cricket), duiken, bukken, er vandoor gaan, ontwijken, ineenduiken

    Français (French)
    1.
    n. - (Zool) canard, cane

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    prendre qch naturellement

    2.
    v. tr. - plonger qn dans l'eau, faire faire le plongeon à qn, faire boire la tasse à qn
    v. intr. - se baisser vivement ou subitement, esquiver un coup
    n. - abaissement/baissement rapide de la tête

    idioms:

    • duck out    quitter, arriver à

    3.
    n. - (Tex) coutil, toile fine

    4.
    n. - (GB) faire un score nul (cricket)

    5.
    n. - (Mil) véhicule amphibie

    6.
    n. - (GB) mon chou, mon petit monsieur, ma petite dame, ma petite demoiselle

    Deutsch (German)
    1.
    n. - Ente

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    gleich in seinem Element sein

    2.
    v. - sich ducken, tauchen, (ugs.) sich drücken, sich verbeugen
    n. - Ente

    idioms:

    • duck out    (ugs.) sich drücken

    3.
    n. - Duck, Segeltuch

    4.
    n. - (Kricket) aus dem Spiel, ohne einen Punkt zu machen

    5.
    n. - Amphibien-Lastkraftwagen

    6.
    n. - Schätzchen, Schatz, Liebling

    Ελληνική (Greek)
    n. - πάπια, σκύψιμο
    v. - σκύβω, βουτώ, αποφεύγω

    idioms:

    • duck out    ξεγλιστρώ
    • take to something like a duck to water    προσαρμόζομαι εύκολα, μαθαίνω κάτι πολύ εύκολα

    Italiano (Italian)
    accovacciarsi, anatra

    idioms:

    • duck out    sottrarsi
    • duck out of    sottrarsi a
    • sitting duck    preda facile
    • take to something like a duck to water    adattarsi facilmente a
    • water off a duck's back    senza effetto

    Português (Portuguese)
    n. - pato (m)
    v. - mergulhar rapidamente

    idioms:

    • a lame duck    empresa (f) ou pessoa (f) em dificuldades
    • duck out    tirar o corpo fora
    • duck out of    recusar-se a fazer algo necessário
    • lame duck    estropiado, membro (m) do congresso não-reeleito
    • sitting duck    de alvo fácil
    • take to something like a duck to water    aprender facilmente
    • water off a duck's back    avisos não adiantam

    Русский (Russian)
    пригнуться, утка

    idioms:

    • a lame duck    неудачник
    • duck out    выйти из
    • duck out of    отвертеться
    • lame duck    неудачник
    • sitting duck    ничего не подозревая
    • take to something like a duck to water    чувствовать себя как рыба в воде
    • water off a duck's back    как с гуся вода

    Español (Spanish)
    1.
    n. - pato, bolita, pata

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    encontrarse enseguida en su elemento

    2.
    v. tr. - agazaparse, encogerse
    v. intr. - agazaparse, encogerse
    n. - pato

    idioms:

    • duck out    zafarse

    3.
    n. - dril

    4.
    n. - (cricket) ser eliminado a cero

    5.
    n. - tipo de camión militar anfibio

    6.
    n. - cariño

    Svenska (Swedish)
    n. - anka, raring, segelduk
    v. - ducka, dyka ned

    中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
    1. 鸭子

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    如鱼得水

    2. 突然低下, 躲避, 将...按入, 回避, 迅速低头, 闪避, 迅速弯身

    idioms:

    • duck out    逃掉

    3. 帆布, 帆布裤子, 粗布

    4. 亲爱的人, 宝贝儿, 零分

    中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
    1.
    n. - 鴨子

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    如魚得水

    2.
    n. - 親愛的人, 寶貝兒, 零分

    3.
    v. tr. - 突然低下, 躲避, 將...按入, 回避
    v. intr. - 迅速低頭, 閃避, 迅速彎身, 躲避
    n. - 迅速低頭, 躲避, 迅速彎身

    idioms:

    • duck out    逃掉

    4.
    n. - 帆布, 帆布褲子, 粗布

    한국어 (Korean)
    1.
    n. - 오리, 애인, 유별난 녀석

    idioms:

    • take to something like a duck to water    좋아하다

    2.
    v. tr. - 들었다 숙였다 하다, 회피하다
    v. intr. - 무맥질을 하다, 피하다
    n. - 숙임, 잠수

    idioms:

    • duck out    피하다

    3.
    n. - 두꺼운 무지 면포

    4.
    n. - (크리켓) 득점 영점

    5.
    n. - 수륙 양용 군용 트럭

    6.
    n. - (편지에서) 친애하는 ~, 사랑하는 사람을 부르는 애칭

    日本語 (Japanese)
    n. - アヒル, カモ, 雌のカモ, かわいい人, カモの肉, ひょいと下げること, ズック, ズック製のズボン
    v. - ひょいと下げる, かわす, 水にもぐる

    idioms:

    • duck out    避ける
    • duck out of    避ける

    العربيه (Arabic)
    ‏(الاسم) بطه, أي نوع من أنواع البط, لحم البط كطعام, نتيجه صفر للاعب كريكت (فعل) يتفادى, يغطس تحت الما لمدة قصيرة, يتوارى خشيه أن يراه أحد‏

    עברית (Hebrew)
    n. - ‮ברווז‬
    v. tr. - ‮כופף, הטביל‬
    v. intr. - ‮התכופף, טבל‬
    n. - ‮התכופפות, טבילה, הטביל‬
    n. - ‮אריג כותנה חזק‬
    n. - ‮אפס נקודות‬
    n. - ‮רכב ימבשתי (אמפיבי)‬
    n. - ‮מותק, יקיר‬


     
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