English Explanatory Dictionary

teal

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of various small freshwater ducks of the genus Anas that are brightly coloured and have short necks.
  2. A dark, somewhat bluish-green colour; a dark cyan.
  3. A teal independent.
adj
  1. Having a bluish-green colour.
name
  1. Initialism of Tasman Empire Airways Limited, the forerunner to Air New Zealand.
noun
  1. Abbreviation of triethylaluminium.
name
  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.
  2. A ghost town in Cole County, Missouri, United States.
noun
  1. Abbreviation of triethylaluminium.

Pronunciation

/tiːl/ [tiːɫ] /til/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-teal.wav

Word forms

teal teals teale more teal most teal Teall Teel Teele

Etymology

From Middle English tele, probably from an unrecorded Old English *tǣle, cognate with West Frisian tjilling (“teal”), Middle Dutch teling (“teal”) (modern Dutch taling), Middle Low German telink, from Proto-Germanic *tailijaz, of unknown ultimate origin, with no cognates outside of Germanic. As the name of a shade of dark greenish-blue like the color patterns on the fowl's head and wings, it is attested from 1923. The Australian political sense derives from the colour teal being intermediate between green (signifying environmentalism) and blue (signifying the conservative Australian Liberal Party).

Related words

teal deer

Derived words

Baikal teal black teal Brazilian teal brown teal Cape teal chestnut teal cinnamon teal common teal Eurasian teal falcated teal gray teal greenwinged teal grey teal Hottentot teal Laysan teal lesser whistling teal New Zealand teal ringed teal speckled teal teal independents Teal Point teal-seed yellow-billed teal
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