great auk

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great auk

Where it comes from

Probably from an early Scandinavian word (compare Old (West) Norse álka, Norwegian alke (“razorbill”)).

noun great auks

A large extinct auk (†Pinguinus impennis). The last great auk ever seen in the UK was captured off Stac an Armin, St Kilda, in 1840.
Similar: garefowl, woggin

Translations

Every language

noun Pinguinus impennis

Español	alca gigante
한국어	큰바다쇠오리 keunbadasoe'ori
日本語	大海烏
中文	大海雀 dàhǎiquè
Português	arau-gigante
Français	grand pingouin
Deutsch	Riesenalk

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Cite this

MLA

"great auk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/great%20auk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

great auk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/great%20auk

Chicago

"great auk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/great%20auk.

BibTeX

@misc{great_auk_2026,
  title = {great auk},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/great%20auk},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}