n. See gannet. [Middle English soland : Old Norse súla, the northern gannet Morus bassanus (compare dialectal Danish sulet, cleft, bifurcated, and Faroese súla, forked piece of wood for winding yarn into skeins, the northern gannet being so called in reference to the distinctive black wing tips that cross over the tail in a forked shape when the bird is standing; ultimately from Germanic *sūli-, pillar, post; compare Old Norse súl, pillar, and Old English syll, sill) + Old Norse ǫnd, duck.] |
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