Duckling

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdʌklɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A small, fluffy member of the Anatidae family that depends on parental care and often inhabits freshwater areas
2. This refers to a juvenile waterfowl that is typically downy, relies on adult birds for survival, and is often seen near calm water sources
3. A young waterfowl of the Anatidae family that is characterized by its soft down feathers, requires parental guidance for survival, and is commonly found in freshwater environments

Etymology: The young of a duck is named by adding the diminutive suffix "-ling" to "duck," a pattern English has used for centuries to mark small or young things, as in "gosling" for a young goose and "fledgling" for a young bird just learning to fly. The "-ling" ending is old: it appears in Old English words and was still productive in Middle English, when speakers formed "dokeling" and related spellings like "dukling" and "dookelynge" from the base word. The surprise lies in the vowel. Today "duck" is pronounced with a short "u," but the Middle English spellings show the word was in flux, and "duckling" kept the shape it had in those centuries while the base word went on to settle into the modern form. The two words are so tightly bound together that most people never think of "duckling" as anything but a compound of "duck" and a small suffix.

Synonyms: young duck, baby duck, nestling, fledgling, chick