guanay

[ gwuh-nahy; Spanish gwah-nahy ]

noun

, plural gua·nay·es [gw, uh, -, nahy, -eys, gwah-, nah, -yes], gua·nays.

1. a cormorant, Phalacrocorax bougainvillii, of islands off the coasts of Peru and Chile, a chief source of guano.

Word History and Origins

Origin of guanay¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from South American Spanish guanae, apparently as back formation from Colonial Spanish huanaes, as plural of huano guano, taken as the name of the bird that produced it