Fulmard

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A stocky, gull-like seabird of northern oceans that is closely related to petrels and shearwaters
2. A northern sea bird resembling a gull, belonging to the petrel family and known for spitting oily stomach contents
3. An Arctic and North Atlantic seabird in the petrel family, with a stiff, tube-nosed bill and grey plumage

Etymology: Sailors who met the northern seabird found that a grab at it could cost them dearly, because it answers danger by spitting a foul-smelling oil from its stomach. Its name records that habit. Old Norse "fúlmár" combined "fúll," meaning "foul," with "már," a word for a gull or mew, and English took the bird's name from Norse-speaking northern islands, where it was used in Orkney and Shetland. "Fulmard" is an uncommon older spelling of the same bird, with a final "-d" that appears in some early records. The standard modern form is "fulmar," which has been used in English since at least the seventeenth century.