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Added 9 October 2026

auk

/ɔːk/ symbol

Latin root: olor Wiktionary

symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about auk at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

ISO 639-3 language code for Heyo.

noun

Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.

Origin

From Icelandic álka, from Old Norse alka (“auk”), from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“a kind of bird”). Cognate with Swedish alka (“auk”), Norwegian and Danish alke (“auk”), Swedish dialectal alla (“long-tailed duck”) (Clangula hyemalis, syn. Fuligula glacialis), Latin olor (“swan”), Ancient Greek ἐλέα (eléa, “marsh-bird”), Welsh alarch (“swan”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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