Adjacent Words

Shoveler definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHOVELER, n. [from shovel.] A fowl of the genus Anas or duck kind.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a worker who shovels; "a shoveler of coal" [syn: shoveler, shoveller]
2: freshwater duck of the northern hemisphere having a broad flat bill [syn: shoveler, shoveller, broadbill, Anas clypeata]

Merriam Webster's

or shoveller noun Date: 15th century 1. one that shovels 2. any of several freshwater ducks (genus Anas) that have a large very broad bill and feed by dabbling

Britannica Concise

Any of four species (genus Anas, family Anatidae) of dabbling ducks having a long, spoon-shaped bill. The migratory northern shoveler (A. clypeata) inhabits shallow marshes and lagoons in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The male has a green head, white breast, chestnut belly and sides, and a blue patch on the forewing. It uses its bill to sift small organisms and seeds from the mud; in deeper waters, it skims the surface for plankton. The other species are the S. Amer. red shoveler (A. platalea); the Cape, or Smith's, shoveler (A. smithii) of S. Africa; and the Australasian, or blue-winged, shoveler (A. rhynchotis).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shoveler Shov"el*er, n. [Also shoveller.] 1. One who, or that which, shovels. 2. (Zo["o]l.) A river duck (Spatula clypeata), native of Europe and America. It has a large bill, broadest towards the tip. The male is handsomely variegated with green, blue, brown, black, and white on the body; the head and neck are dark green. Called also broadbill, spoonbill, shovelbill, and maiden duck. The Australian shoveler, or shovel-nosed duck (S. rhynchotis), is a similar species.