Vulture

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvʌltʃə/

Definitions

1. A type of large bird known for consuming dead animals and a term for someone who exploits situations for personal gain or benefit
2. This bird species primarily survives on carrion and refers to an individual who takes advantage of the vulnerabilities of others
3. A large bird that feeds mainly on the carcasses of dead animals ; a person who seeks to profit from others' difficulties or suffering

Etymology: The Old English name for this bird was "ūf," a word that disappeared from the language once a French-derived term took over. That replacement came via Anglo-Norman "vultur," which descended from Old French "voutoir" and "voutre" before those forms reached back to the Latin "vultur" (also spelled "voltur"). The Latin word is the same one that gave English the adjective "vulturine," meaning resembling a vulture, though that link is a different path through the same Latin root. The Latin root itself is not the story here so much as the displacement: English speakers abandoned a native Germanic word for a loanword from Norman-influenced French, which is why a common scavenging bird carries a Latin-derived name in modern English. The figurative sense, applied to a person who profits from others' misfortune, grew naturally from the bird's habit of feeding on what others have lost.

Synonyms: scavenger, raptor

Antonyms: predator