marabou

[ mar-uh-boo ]

noun

1. any of three large storks of the genus Leptoptilus, of Africa or the East Indies, having soft, downy feathers under the wings and tail that are used for making a furlike trimming for women's hats and garments.
2. one of the feathers.
3. the trimming or material made of the feathers.
4. thrown silk that can be dyed without being scoured.

marabou

/ ˈmærəˌbuː /

noun

1. a large black-and-white African carrion-eating stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, with a very short naked neck and a straight heavy bill See also adjutant bird
2. a down feather of this bird, used to trim garments
3. 1. a fine white raw silk
   2. fabric made of this

Word History and Origins

Origin of marabou¹

1815–25; < French marabout literally, marabout

Word History and Origins

Origin of marabou¹

C19: from French, from Arabic murābit marabout , so called because the stork is considered a holy bird in Islam

Example Sentences

The devastation has already seen flocks of marabou storks and other birds that perched and nested on the trees migrate to tall buildings in the city centre.

From BBC

Style and stardom collided in a conflagration of marabou, lace and lamé bathed in pink and purple marquee lights.

From New York Times

Dressed in Gucci’s sparkles and marabou and velvet, regular people, too, have the capacity to deliver fashion that is transporting.

From Washington Post

She chose metallic leathers, embroidered satins and rich brocades, but “deliberately avoided the fluffy marabou look because this isn’t a new-wave housewife shoe. I’m a working woman.”

From The Guardian

His coats are a patchwork of fabrics and colors; his dresses are adorned with the artful compositions of the Japanese ceramist Takuro Kuwata; marabou hats fluttered as models walked.

From Washington Post