browse words by letter
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
more about cormorant
cormorant |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Cormorant \Cor"mo*rant\ (k[^o]r"m[-o]*rant), n. [F. cormoran, fr Armor. m[=o]r-vran a sea raven; m[=o]r sea + bran raven, with cor, equiv. to L. corvus raven, pleonastically prefixed; or perh. fr L. corvus marinus sea raven.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of {Phalacrocorax}, a genus of sea birds having a sac under the beak; the shag. Cormorants devour fish voraciously, and have become the emblem of gluttony. They are generally black, and hence are called {sea ravens}, and {coalgeese}. [Written also {corvorant}.] 2. A voracious eater; a glutton, or gluttonous servant. --B. Jonson From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: cormorant n : large voracious dark-colored long-necked seabird with a distensible pouch for holding fish; used in Asia to catch fish [syn: {Phalacrocorax carbo}] From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Cormorant (Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:17), Heb. shalak, "plunging," or "darting down," (the Phalacrocorax carbo), ranked among the unclean" birds; of the same family group as the pelican. It is a plunging" bird, and is common on the coasts and the island seas of Palestine. Some think the Hebrew word should be rendered gannet" (Sula bassana "the solan goose"); others that it is the tern" or "sea swallow," which also frequents the coasts of Palestine as well as the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan valley during several months of the year. But there is no reason to depart from the ordinary rendering. In Isa. 34:11, Zeph. 2:14 (but in R.V., "pelican") the Hebrew word rendered by this name is _ka'ath_. It is translated pelican" (q.v.) in Ps 102:6. The word literally means the "vomiter," and the pelican is so called from its vomiting the shells and other things which it has voraciously swallowed. (See {PELICAN}.)
more about cormorant
This work is licensed under a
