flamingo
Meanings
Plural: flamingoes, flamingos
Noun
- large pink to scarlet web-footed wading bird with down-bent bill; inhabits brackish lakes
- A wading bird of the family Phoenicopteridae of the order Phoenicopteriformes.
- A deep pink color tinged with orange, like that of a flamingo.
Adj
- Of a deep pink color tinged with orange, like that of a flamingo.
Origin / Etymology
From Portuguese flamengo (“flamingo”) and Spanish flamenco (“flamingo”), which were adapted from Catalan flamenc (“flamingo”), of disputed ultimate origin in this sense. All three forms are used adjectivally as an ethnonym meaning 'Flemish' (of Germanic origin, cognate to English Fleming); Spanish flamenco refers also to a dance type. Compare also French flamant (“flamingo”).
*The bird's name may derive from the ethnonym by an association of a ruddy complexion or hair color with the Flemings; this etymology is supported by Corominas. (In Spanish, flamenco can be used colloquially as an adjective meaning "robust, healthy-looking".)
* Alternatively, either the dance flamenco, the bird name or both come from attaching the same Germanic-derived ending found in the ethnonym to the distinct root of Latin flamma (“flame”): i.e. Catalan flamenc has been analyzed as flama (“flame”) + -enc. Compare also Portuguese -engo.
Synonyms
Scrabble Score: 14
flamingo is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordflamingo is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
flamingo is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary