great skua

noun

See under skua(def 1).

Origin of great skua

First recorded in 1950–55

Words nearby great skua

great satan, great schism, great scott, great seal, great shakes, great skua, great slave lake, great slave river, great smoky mountains, great smoky mountains national park, great society

Definition for great skua (2 of 2)

skua
[ skyoo-uh ]
/ ˈskyu ə /

noun

Also called bonxie. any of several large brown gull-like predatory birds of the genus Catharacta, related to jaegers, especially C. skua (great skua), of colder waters of both northern and southern seas.
British. jaeger(def 1).

Origin of skua

1670–80; < Faeroese skū(g)vur; cognate with Old Norse skūfr tassel, tuft, also skua (in poetry), akin to shove1

British Dictionary definitions for great skua

skua
/ (ˈskjuːə) /

noun

any predatory gull-like bird of the family Stercorariidae, such as the great skua or bonxie (Stercorarius skua) or arctic skua (S. parasiticus) both of which harass terns or gulls into dropping or disgorging fish they have caught

Word Origin for skua

C17: from New Latin, from Faeroese skūgvur, from Old Norse skūfr