Etymology

seafowl

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Today it means: Any bird that spends most of its time in coastal waters or over the oceans. Full definition →

Middle English sefoul ← Old English sǣfugol
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromsǣfugol“seabird”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromsefoul
  3. English todayseafowl

From Middle English sefoul, from Old English sǣfugol (“seabird”), equivalent to sea + fowl. Cognate with Dutch zeevogel, German Seevogel, Swedish sjöfågel, Icelandic sjófugl.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.