waterfowl

W4A1T1E1R1F4O1W4L1

noun

Any of the birds, such as ducks, geese and swans, that spend most of their non-flying time on water; especially those of the family Anatidae.

Similar
water birdwaterbird
OriginMiddle English waterfoul →
Less commonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nounwaterfowl (plural waterfowl or waterfowls)

plural waterfowls

  1. Any of the birds, such as ducks, geese and swans, that spend most of their non-flying time on water; especially those of the family Anatidae.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounfreshwater aquatic bird

Similar
water birdwaterbird
Broader
aquatic bird
Also see
waterbird

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishwaterfoul
  2. Englishwaterfowl

From Middle English waterfoul, water-foul, equivalent to water + fowl. Compare Old English dopfugel (“waterfowl, moorhen”, literally “dipping-fowl”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian водни птици
  • водни птици (vodni ptici)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Chinese Mandarin 水鳥 /水鸟
  • 水鳥 /水鸟 (shuǐniǎo)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Dutch watervogels
  • watervogelsbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Esperanto akvobirdo
  • akvobirdobirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Finnish vesilintu
  • vesilintubirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
French sauvagine
  • sauvaginebirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
German Wasservogel
  • Wasservogelbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Greek υδρόβια πουλιά
  • υδρόβια πουλιά (ydróvia pouliá)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Hungarian vízimadár
  • vízimadárbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Italian uccelli acquatici
  • uccelli acquaticibirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Japanese 水鳥
  • 水鳥 (suichō)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Korean 물새
  • 물새 (mulsae)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Polish ptak wodny
  • ptak wodnybirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Portuguese ave aquática
  • ave aquáticabirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Russian водоплавающие птицы
  • водоплавающие птицыbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Spanish aves acuáticas
  • aves acuáticasbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Swedish sjöfågel
  • sjöfågelbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Tamil நீர்க்கோழி
  • நீர்க்கோழி (nīrkkōḻi)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Turkish su kuşu
  • su kuşubirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Ukrainian водоплавні птахи
  • водоплавні птахи (vodoplavni ptaxy)birds that spend most of their non-flying time on water
Welsh aderyn dŵr
  • aderyn dŵrbirds that spend most of their non-flying time on water

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

waterflow
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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