Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
noun
- any of several sea ducks of the genus Somateria, esp S. mollissima, and related genera, which occur in the N hemisphere. The male has black and white plumage, and the female is the source of eiderdown
1743, from German Eider or Dutch eider, both from Old Norse æþar, genitive of æþr “duck,” from a North Germanic root.