cormorant

Meanings

Noun

large voracious dark-colored long-necked seabird with a distensible pouch for holding fish; used in Asia to catch fish
Any of various medium-large black seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae which dive into water for fish and other aquatic animals, found throughout the world except for islands in the centre of the Pacific Ocean; specifically, the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).
A voracious eater; also, a person who, or thing which, is aggressively greedy for wealth, etc.

Adj

Voracious; aggressively greedy.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*ḱorh₂wós
From Middle English cormeraunt (“great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo); other types of aquatic bird”) [and other forms], from Old French cormaran, cor-maraunt [and other forms] (modern French cormoran), possibly variants of *corp-marin, from Medieval Latin corvus marīnus (literally “sea-raven”), with the ending -morant possibly derived from French moran (“marine, maritime”), from Breton mor (“sea”), with -an corrupted in English to -ant. Latin corvus is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂wós (“raven”), which is imitative of the harsh cry of the bird; while marīnus (“of or pertaining to the sea, marine”) is from Latin mare (“sea”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea; standing water”), possibly from *mer- (“sea; lake; wetland”)) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).
Cognates
* Catalan corbmari
* Occitan corpmari
* Portuguese corvomarinho

Synonyms

belly-god, buzgut, cormorant, corvorant, epicure, gannet, glutton, gorger, gormandizer, gourmand, greedyguts, guttle, helluo, hog, Homer Simpson, norie, Phalacrocorax carbo, pig, sea crow, sea raven, slow belly, trencherman

Scrabble Score: 13

cormorant is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
cormorant is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
cormorant is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

cormorant is a valid Words With Friends word