maleo

M3A1L1E1O1

noun

Macrocephalon maleo, a species of turkey-like bird in the megapode family, endemic to Sulawesi.

Similar
Macrocephalon maleo
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Meanings

nounmaleo (plural maleos)

plural maleos

  1. Macrocephalon maleo, a species of turkey-like bird in the megapode family, endemic to Sulawesi.

    It is in this loose, hot, black sand that those singular birds, the "Maleos" deposit their eggs.

    1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 413

Synonyms & antonyms

nounCelebes megapode that lays eggs in holes in sandy beaches

Similar
Macrocephalon maleo
Broader
megapodemound birdmound-bird

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

The common term for megapodes (including the maleo) in various Celebic languages of the Sulawesi region; introduced as a common name by Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1826, and as a species epithet by German naturalist Salomon Müller in 1846.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Meolalameoamole
Cite this entry
APA

maleo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maleo

MLA

“maleo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maleo. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maleo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maleo.

Source: maleo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.