teal

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable) Any of various small freshwater ducks of the genus Anas that are brightly coloured and have short necks.
2. (countable, uncountable) A dark, somewhat bluish-green colour; a dark cyan.
3. (Australia, attributive, countable) A teal independent.

Adj

Having a bluish-green colour.

Synonyms

wild duck

bluish green

blue-green

cyan

blue green

greenish blue

green-winged teal

peacock blue

peacock-blue

aquamarine

greenwing

emerald green

garganey

waterfowl

common teal

Translations

sarcelle

Anas crecca

taling

azul-petróleo

appelblauwzeegroen

xarxet

αγριόπαπια

alzavola

cerceta

patinho

Krickente

βαθυκύανο

barraquete

Azul-Petróleo

bleu sarcelle

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tiːl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: tele

Inherited from Old English: *tǣle

Cognate with Western Frisian: tjilling

Cognate with Middle Dutch: teling

Cognate with Dutch: taling

Cognate with Middle Low German: telink

In summary

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).