Meanings
Origin
Apparently first attested in English in 1839, in the writings of Darwin, and usually said to be from a native name imitating the bird's cry. However, compare dialectal Spanish carrancha (“dog collar with spikes”) (from *carrancula), a form of carlanca (metathesized from *carcannula, from Late Latin carcannum): the birds' coloration does sometimes resemble a collar.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
carrancha. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carrancha
“carrancha.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carrancha. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carrancha,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carrancha.
Source: carrancha on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.