Dictionary-Definition.com :: Merganser definition

Definition of 'merganser'

noun

Large crested fish-eating diving duck having a slender hooked bill with serrated edges [syn: merganser, fish duck, sawbill, sheldrake]

From: GCIDE

Merganser \Mer*gan"ser\, n. [Sp. merg['a]nsar, fr. mergo a diver (L. mergus, fr. mergere to dip, dive) + ['a]nsar goose, L. anser.] (Zool.) Any bird of the genus Mergus (Merganser), and allied genera of the subfamily Merginae. They are allied to the ducks, but have a sharply serrated bill, eat fish, and dive for food. Also called fish duck. [1913 Webster +PJC]
Note: The red-breasted merganser (Merganser serrator) inhabits both hemispheres. It is called also sawbill, harle, and sheldrake. The American merganser (Merganser Americanus.) and the hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) are well-known species.
White merganser, the smew or white nun. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Goosander \Goos"an`der\, n. [OE. gossander, a tautological word formed fr. goose + gander. Cf. Merganser.] (Zool.) A species of merganser (M. merganser) of Northern Europe and America; -- called also merganser, dundiver, sawbill, sawneb, shelduck, and sheldrake. See Merganser. [1913 Webster]