scaup

noun

plural scaup or scaups
: either of two diving ducks (Aythya affinis or A. marila) with the male having a glossy purplish or greenish head and a black breast and tail

Examples of scaup in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Again, like scaup and redheads, canvasbacks are usually hunted over open water behind a decoy spread numbering well into the triple digits. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 30 Nov. 2023 Hunters in the North Zone and Open Water Zone will be allowed to take two scaup for the first 45 days of the season and one scaup for the final 15 days, while hunters in the South Zone will be allowed one scaup for the first 15 days and 2 scaup for the final 45. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2022 In addition, special regulations apply to scaup. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2022 Duck hunters will again enjoy a liberal bag limit of six ducks per day that can be any combination of four mallards (no more than two of which may be female), three wood ducks, one mottle duck, two black ducks, two redheads, one pintail, two canvasbacks and one scaup. Frank Sargeant, al, 24 Nov. 2021 And the lesser scaup is beautiful. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2021 Four redheads at Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Chestnut Hill four more redheads at Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain, and a lesser scaup at Leverett Pond in Boston. BostonGlobe.com, 31 Dec. 2022 Three redheads, a northern pintail, and a Bonaparte’s gull at Turners Falls, three greater scaup and a red-breasted merganser at gate 22 at Quabbin Reservoir in New Salem, and a yellow-bellied sapsucker in Sunderland. BostonGlobe.com, 31 Dec. 2022 Thursday morning flocks of bluebills, including both greater and lesser scaup, worked the area from first light. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 24 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scaup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

short for scaup duck; scaup probably alteration of scalp bed of shellfish

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scaup was in 1797

Dictionary Entries Near scaup

Cite this Entry

“Scaup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scaup. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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