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teal

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teal¹

  • /tiːl/ UK
  • [tiːɫ] UK
  • /til/ US

Sounds like Teal, teel, Teale, Teel, Theel, Theil, Thiel, Thiele, tiel, Tiel, til · Rhymes with -iːl

Where it comes from

From Middle English tele, probably from an unrecorded Old English *tǣle, cognate with West Frisian tjilling (“teal”), Middle Dutch teling (“teal”) (modern Dutch taling), Middle Low German telink, from Proto-Germanic *tailijaz, of unknown ultimate origin, with no cognates outside of Germanic. Compare feal and heal for similar phonological development.

As the name of a shade of dark greenish-blue like the color patterns on the fowl's head and wings, it is attested from 1923.

The Australian political sense derives from the colour teal being intermediate between green (signifying environmentalism) and blue (signifying the conservative Australian Liberal Party).

noun teals · teale

  1. countable Any of various small freshwater ducks of the genus Anas that are brightly coloured and have short necks.
  2. countable, uncountable A dark, somewhat bluish-green colour; a dark cyan.
  3. Australia, attributive, countable A teal independent. In a bid to defend their inner-city seats, the Liberal Party has moved towards the environmental and progressive left in what can be described as a “teal strategy” that blurs the lines between the Liberals and the Greens.

adjective more teal · most teal · teale

  1. Having a bluish-green colour.

TEAL²

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of Tasman Empire Airways Limited, the forerunner to Air New Zealand.

noun

  1. abbreviation, uncountable Abbreviation of triethylaluminium

Teal³

Where it comes from

From teal, a nickname given to someone considered to resemble this duck.

proper noun Teals · Teale · Teall · Teel · Teele

  1. countable, uncountable A surname transferred from the nickname.
  2. countable, uncountable A ghost town in Cole County, Missouri, United States.

TEAl⁴

noun

  1. abbreviation, uncountable Abbreviation of triethylaluminium

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: bluish green, drake, turquoise, duck, brown teal, hottentot teal, gray teal, common teal, pintail duck, grey teal, dabbling duck, tree duck, piketail, brazilian duck, squawk duck, eurasian teal

Translations

Every language

noun duck

Españolcerceta, barraquete, zarceta, trullo
한국어쇠오리 soe'ori
日本語小鴨 kogamo
中文水鴨 /水鸭 shuǐyā
Portuguêspatinho, marrequinha, cerceta
Françaissarcelle
DeutschKrickente, Kriekente
Italianoalzavola
Ελληνικάαγριόπαπια agriópapia
Românălișiță, sarselă
Русскийчиро́к čirók
Tiếng Việtmòng két
العربيةشرشير šaršīr, حَذَف ḥaḏaf

noun colour

Españolazul petróleo, verde azulado
日本語鴨の羽色 kamo no ha-iro
中文鴨綠色 /鸭绿色 yālǜsè
Portuguêsazul-petróleo
Françaisbleu sarcelle, bleu canard
Deutschblaugrün, petrol
Italianoblu petrolio, foglia di tè
Ελληνικάβαθυκύανο vathykýano
Românăalbastru petrol
Русскийзеленова̀то-голубо́й zelenovàto-golubój, цвет морской волны cvet morskoj volny
Tiếng Việtxanh
العربيةشرشيري šaršīriyy
עבריתטוּרְקִיז turqíz

adj colour

Españolazul petróleo, verde azulado
Portuguêsazul-petróleo
Françaissarcelle
Deutschpetrolblau, petrol
Italianofoglia di tè, turchese scuro
Românăalbastru-verzui, albastru petrol

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MLA

"teal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/teal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

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

Chicago

"teal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/teal.

BibTeX
@misc{teal_2026,
  title = {teal},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/teal},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}