English Explanatory Dictionary

carrancha

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The Brazilian kite (Polyborus brasiliensis).

Word forms

carrancha carranchas

Etymology

Apparently first attested in English in 1839, in the writings of Darwin, and usually said to be from a native name imitating the bird's cry. However, compare dialectal Spanish carrancha (“dog collar with spikes”) (from *carrancula), a form of carlanca (metathesized from *carcannula, from Late Latin carcannum): the birds' coloration does sometimes resemble a collar.

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