Muscovy duck

noun

1. a large, crested, wild duck, Cairina moschata, of tropical America, that has been widely domesticated.

Muscovy duck

noun

1. a large crested widely domesticated South American duck, Cairina moschata, having a greenish-black plumage with white markings and a large red caruncle on the bill

Word History and Origins

Origin of Muscovy duck¹

First recorded in 1650–60

Word History and Origins

Origin of Muscovy duck¹

C17: originally musk duck, a name later mistakenly associated with Muscovy

Example Sentences

The Muscovy Duck, which is of a different species, has a bare face with a carunculated red skin.

From Project Gutenberg

The Muscovy duck, for instance, is pretty well distributed throughout Bantu Africa, but it has no common widely-spread name.

From Project Gutenberg

The offspring of birds as much alike as the domestic goose and the large Muscovy duck will not propagate their species.

From Project Gutenberg

The muscovy duck is a distinct species which has been domesticated elsewhere and introduced.

From Project Gutenberg

Out of one canoe we got a goose, which was about the size of a Muscovy duck.

From Project Gutenberg