Anatidae

plural noun

Anat·​i·​dae

əˈnatəˌdē

: a large family of chiefly aquatic birds (order Anseriformes) having relatively heavy bodies, short legs, webbed feet, a bill with a hard horny nail at the tip and transverse toothlike ridges on the biting edges and including the ducks, geese, swans, and related forms

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Anat-, Anas, type genus + -idae

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

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