Meanings
plural auks · alternative awk · alternative alk
- Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.
Further afield, these auks are also in dire straits: Norway has seen vertiginous crashes, with hundreds of thousands of adult puffins in the once-teeming colony of Røst struggling to fledge any chicks in recent years.
2018 June 20, Louise Tickle, The GuardianSynonyms: alcid
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁el-“a kind of bird”
- Proto-Germanic*alkǭ
- Old Norsealka“auk”
- Icelandicálka
- Englishauk
From Icelandic álka, from Old Norse alka (“auk”), from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“a kind of bird”). Cognate with Swedish alka (“auk”), Norwegian and Danish alke (“auk”), Swedish dialectal alla (“long-tailed duck”) (Clangula hyemalis, syn. Fuligula glacialis), Latin olor (“swan”), Ancient Greek ἐλέα (eléa, “marsh-bird”), Welsh alarch (“swan”).
More words from Icelandic, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian гагарка
- гагарка (gagarka)seabird of the family Alcidae
Catalan àlcid
- àlcidseabird of the family Alcidae
Chinese Mandarin 海雀科
- 海雀科 (hǎiquèkē)seabird of the family Alcidae
Czech alka
- alkaseabird of the family Alcidae
Dutch alk
- alkseabird of the family Alcidae
Esperanto aŭko
- aŭkoseabird of the family Alcidae
Finnish ruokki
- ruokkiseabird of the family Alcidae
French pingouin
- pingouinseabird of the family Alcidae
German Alk
- Alkseabird of the family Alcidae
Hindi अलका
- अलका (alkā)seabird of the family Alcidae
Hungarian alka
- alkaseabird of the family Alcidae
Irish falcóg
- falcógseabird of the family Alcidae
Italian alca
- alcaseabird of the family Alcidae
Japanese 海雀
- 海雀 (umisuzume)seabird of the family Alcidae
Polish alka
- alkaseabird of the family Alcidae
Portuguese torda
- tordaseabird of the family Alcidae
Romanian alcă, pinguin nordic
- alcăseabird of the family Alcidae
- pinguin nordicseabird of the family Alcidae
Russian гага́рка
- гага́рка (gagárka)seabird of the family Alcidae
Slovak alka
- alkaseabird of the family Alcidae
Spanish alca
- alcaseabird of the family Alcidae
Swedish alka
- alkaseabird of the family Alcidae
Welsh carfil
- carfilseabird of the family Alcidae
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with auk
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
auk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auk
“auk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auk. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “auk,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auk.
Source: auk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.