gull

Inherited from Middle English gulle, from a Brythonic language (compare Breton gouelan, Welsh gwylan, and Cornish golan), from Proto-Brythonic *gwuɨlann, from Proto-Celtic *weilannā (“seagull”).
Cognate with Old Irish faílenn, Scottish Gaelic faoileag. Compare French goéland, a borrowing from Breton. Eclipsed Middle English lare (borrowed from Latin larus) and Middle English mewe (from Old English mæw).

The tide was out, and we drew up amid the strong bracing smell of seaweed, with gulls screeching, wheeling around, and gliding on the wind.

1947 January–February, O. S. Nock, “‘The Aberdonian’ in Wartime”, in The Railway Magazine, volume 93, number 567, page 8:

Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight—how to get from shore to food and back again.[…]For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.

1970, Richard Bach, “Part One”, in Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story, Macmillan; republished as complete edition, Scribner, 2014 October 21, →ISBN, page 4:

A seabird of the genus Larus or of the subfamily Larinae.


common gull

/ˈkɒmən ˌɡʌl/

/ˈkɑːmən ˌɡʌl/


laughing gull

A common European gull (Xema ridibundus).


cob

en-noun

cob (countable and uncountable, plural cobs)

Of uncertain origin. The word has many disparate senses, which are likely of diverse origin. The specifics of these origins have long been debated, as has the question of which senses arise from which origins. At least the swan sense originated in Middle English cobbe (“male swan; gang leader; bully”). Some other senses likely originated as a variant of cop (“head, top, peak, summit”). In other senses, the word may be related to cub, itself of obscure origin but possibly from Old Norse kobbi (“seal”). However, many alternative etymologies have been proposed to account for some or all senses of cob; various sources have related it, for example, to English cot (“cottage”), Welsh cob (“top, tuft”), or German Kübel (“large container”). All these etymologies are disputed, and the exact origins of cob cannot be known with any certainty.

inh

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-cob.wav

Here is also the pica marina or seapye many sorts of Lari, seamewes & cobs.

1668, Thomas Browne, "Notes on Certain Birds Found in Norfolk", in Notes and Letters on the Natural History of Norfolk, Jarrold & Sons (1902), pages 8–9

On Saturday the 28th we saw a whale, two sea-wolves, and two penguins; in the afternoon there appeared great numbers of ospreys, and sea-cobs, and we met with some sea-grass, with long leaves.

1773, Antoine-Joseph Pernety, The History of a Voyage to the Malouine (or Falkland), page 178:

We found here a species of cob, with a grey head, red beak and feet, very much resembling our larus ribibundus….

1820, Sir Richard Phillips and Co. (tr.), Travels in Brazil (in New Voyages and Travels, volume III), translation of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, Reise nach Brasilien (1817), page 21

The Raven has a very ancient look about him, as if he could tell a lot if he thought proper, but the Cob looks weird and uncanny, as if he was continually thinking over the creatures that he had seen go down to Davy’s locker.

1895, A Son of the Marshes [Denham Jordan], The Wild-Fowl and Sea-Fowl of Great Britain, Chapman and Hall, page 312

Larus marinus
Larus marinus#Translingual

(East Anglia) A gull, especially the black-backed gull (Larus marinus); also spelled cobb.


mew

From Middle English mewe, mowe, meau, from Old English mǣw (“seagull”), from Proto-West Germanic *maiwī, from Proto-Germanic *mai(h)waz (“seagull”). See also West Frisian meau, miuw, Dutch meeuw, German Möwe (whence Polish mewa); akin to Latvian maût (“to roar”), Old Church Slavonic мꙑꙗти (myjati, “to mew”).

A daungerous and detestable place,
 To which nor fish nor fowle did once approch,
 But yelling Meawes, with Seagulles hoarse and bace […]

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

From helm to sea they saw him leap,
 As arrow from the string,
 And dive into the water deep,
 As mew upon the wing.

1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring:

(archaic, poetic, dialectal) A gull, seagull.


seagull

seagulls (plural)
sea gull (alternative)
sea-gull (alternative)

From sea + gull. The second element is from a Brythonic language. Compare Welsh gwylan, Breton gouelan.

And while there are plenty of benches, there's little shelter from the wind (or predatory seagulls the size of dogs) out on the platforms.

2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 49:

Any of several white, often dark-backed birds of the family Laridae having long, pointed wings and short legs.

(UK, slang) A fan or member of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.


seagull

en-verb

seagull (third-person singular simple present seagulls, present participle seagulling, simple past and past participle seagulled)

seagulls (present singular third-person)
seagulling (participle present)
seagulled (participle past)
seagulled (past)
sea gull (alternative)
sea-gull (alternative)

[…] and when you need cover for the fullback because of the bombs raining down, when the walking maul requires every forward to quit seagulling and actually do some hard graft, then the rest of the game opens up.

2002 September 24, Greig Blanchett, “Re: The Immorality of the Drop Goal”, in rec.sport.rugby.union (Usenet):

On hand was seagulling number eight Dave Hodges to cross for the all-important try.

2002 December 13, “Sharks beached at Stradey”, in BBC Sport:

That occurred in the 12th minute when flanker George Smith, seagulling out wide, enjoyed the rewards of a two-man overlap to score.

2003 November 2, Greg Growden, “Australia survives scare”, in The Age:

France was full of running and continued to spread the ball wide or kick in behind the defence, where towering right-winger Aurelien Rougerie and the seagulling French back row had a height advantage contesting the high ball.

2003 November 10, Mark Fuller, “Impeccable France outclasses Ireland”, in The Age:

Samo seagulled for Australia's final try two minutes from time.

2011 September 24, Darren Walton, “Injuries sour Wallabies 67-5 win over USA”, in MSN NZ:

(British, Australia, New Zealand, rugby slang, of a forward) To run in the back line rather than concentrate on primary positional duties in open play.

It should be considered a style of outboarding I believe. Seagulling arround^([sic]) and all.

2007 December 19, Douglas Eagleson, “Re: british seagull info request”, in rec.boats.cruising (Usenet):

(boating slang) To use a British Seagull outboard.


black-headed gull

en-noun

black-headed gull (plural black-headed gulls)

Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Chroicocephalus ridibundus#Translingual

A small gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada.

псытхьэрыкъуэщхьэфӏыцӏэ

psətḥɛrəqʷɛśḥɛfʼəcʼɛ

tó wónaanídę́ę́ʼ tónteel tsídii bitsiiʼ halzhinígíí


kittiwake

kittiwake (plural kittiwakes or kittiwake)

kittiwakes (plural)
kittiwake (plural)
kittywake (alternative)

Originally Scots, imitative of the bird's call.

onomatopoeic

imitative

Either of two small gulls in the genus Rissa of the family Laridae that nest in colonies on sea cliffs and spend the winter on the open ocean.


peewit

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-peewit.wav

any of several birds
laughing gull (Xema ridibundus)


herring gull

European herring gull
European herring gull

Larus argentatus
Larus argentatus#Translingual

Any of a group of large seagulls in the Larus genus.

Specifically the European herring gull (Larus argentatus).

American herring gull

Larus smithsonianus or Larus argentatus smithsonianus


saddleback

great black-backed gull
great black-backed gull


great black-backed gull

en-noun

great black-backed gull (plural great black-backed gulls)

A large European and American gull, Larus marinus.


glaucous gull

Larus hyperboreus
Larus hyperboreus#Translingual

Larus hyperboreus, a large gull which breeds in the Arctic.


Sabine's gull

A small gull, Xema sabini, breeding in the Arctic and migrating south in autumn.


little gull

A small migratory gull, Larus minutus, from Northern Europe and Asia.


shitehawk

Possibly one of the most highly protected birds today is the kite, known by the British Army throughout the world as a shite-hawk.

1999 April 28, Lord Burton, “Capercaillie”, in parliamentary debates (House of Lords), column 423:

Shite-hawks..are more properly known as black kites,..gaining their unlovely nickname from British troops who used to get the meat stolen from their plates by these bold and skilful birds.

2006 March 11, Simon Barnes, “At deep mid-wicket I can see a face like a gargoyle – but wings like an angel”, in The Times, page 23:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, informal) A large scavenging or predatory bird; especially (originally in military use in South Asia) the black kite.

(chiefly UK, Ireland, informal) The European herring gull.

"Watch yer language, ye shitehawk." His da had heard the din from the kitchen and had decided to have his say in the matter.

1997, Valerie Maher, Sarah's Gate: Tales from Ballyhornet:

What must it be like, to be such a fucking gimp, and see perfection, and know you're too much of a shitehawk to ever have it?

2001, Gary Owen, Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco:

When I win, Liam still suggests on the eighteenth green that I'm a nine-fingered shitehawk.

2005, Andrew M Greeley, The Priestly Sins:

...any analyst who puts out a book with the word "ethics" in the title is invariably an incorrigible shitehawk.

(chiefly UK, Ireland, informal) An objectionable person; a twat or wanker.


land gull

(Norfolk) the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus).


tarrock

Perhaps ultimately from Greenlandic taateraaq (“kittiwake”).


flying rat

(derogatory) a rock pigeon, or a seagull, living in an urban environment, especially one regarded as pesky, loud or a scavenger.


annet

annets (plural)
annot (alternative)
anny (alternative)

From Middle English ende, enede, from Old English ened, æned (“drake, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *anad (“duck”), from Proto-Germanic *anadz (“duck”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énh₂ts (“duck”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Oante (“duck”), West Frisian ein (“duck”), Dutch eend (“duck”), German Low German Aant (“duck”), German Ente (“duck”), Norwegian and Swedish and (“duck, mallard”), Icelandic önd (“duck”), Latin anas (“duck, drake”), Lithuanian antis (“duck, mallard”), Russian у́тка (útka, “duck”), Sanskrit आति (ātí, “aquatic bird”).

(dialectal, figurative) A silly fellow; gull.


sea drake

The gardener found birds frozen to their branches, yet at the base of the same tree, a flock of sea-drakes and hens were perfectly unharmed!

2024, David Marcum, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XLIV:

(UK) The pewit gull, or sea cormorant (Corvus marinus)


sea cob

lesser black-backed gull
lesser black-backed gull

(obsolete, UK) The gull (either the lesser black-backed gull or great black-backed gull)


waggel

(obsolete, UK, dialect) The young of the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), formerly considered a distinct species.


laroid

en-adj

laroid (comparative more laroid, superlative most laroid)

more laroid (comparative)
most laroid (superlative)

We now come to a small group of Laroid birds, remarkable for their curious bill, the lower mandible of which has been compared with a "short-handled pitchfork," and for their long wings, viz., the skimmers, the Rhynchopinæ, not less remarkable for their peculiar habits and their geographical distribution, parts of America, Asia, and Africa being inhabited by one species each.

1888, Friedrich von Hellwald, The Riverside Natural History, volume 4, page 83:

The whole form of the skull is, indeed, essentially Laroid, and quite unlike that of the Kingfishers;

(zoology) Of, pertaining to, or having characteristics of the gull family, Laridae.


swartback

Thy foot had been on the Maiden-skerrie of Northmaven, known before but to the webbed sole of the swartback.

1822, [Walter Scott], The Pirate. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:

(obsolete, Scotland) The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus).


pickmire

From pick + mire, so called from its picking its food from the mire.

(UK, dialect, dated) The peewit, or black-headed gull.


sea crow

For quotations using this term, see Citations:sea-crow.


scaurie

scauries (plural)
scaury (alternative)
scorie (alternative)
scorey (alternative)


Pacific gull

Larus pacificus
Larus pacificus#Translingual

A gull, Larus pacificus, native to Australasia and the Antarctic region.


kelp gull

Larus dominicanus
Larus dominicanus#Translingual

A black-backed gull found on coasts of much of the Southern Hemisphere (Larus dominicanus).


red-billed gull

en-noun

red-billed gull (plural red-billed gulls)

Chroicocephalus scopulinus
Chroicocephalus scopulinus#Translingual

A gull native to New Zealand, its surrounding islands and subantarctic islands; the Chroicocephalus scopulinus.


silver gull

A gull found in the coastal areas of Australia and its surrounding islands; Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae.


Franklin's gull

Franklin's gull (plural Franklin's gulls)

Named after English explorer John Franklin.

Leucophaeus pipixcan
Leucophaeus pipixcan#Translingual

A migratory gull that breeds in the Northern Hemisphere and winters in the Southern Hemisphere; Leucophaeus pipixcan.


European herring gull

European herring gull (plural European herring gulls)

A common, large seagull, Larus argentatus, having a white and gray body and a yellow bill with a red spot and found in the coastal areas of Europe.

Tó Wónaanídi Bilagáana Bikéyahdę́ę́ʼ tónteel tsídii


seamew

seamews (plural)
sea-mew (alternative)
sea mew (alternative)

From Middle English semewe, semawe (“seagull”), equivalent to sea + mew (“gull”).

Now dance the lights on lawn and lea,
The flocks are whiter down the vale,
And milkier every milky sail
On winding stream or distant sea;
Where now the seamew pipes, or dives
In yonder greening gleam, and fly
The happy birds, that change their sky
To build and brood

1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H., canto CXV:


lesser black-backed gull

lesser black-backed gull (plural lesser black-backed gulls)

A seabird and member of the gull family, Larus fuscus.


black-legged kittiwake

black-legged kittiwake (plural black-legged kittiwakes)

Rissa tridactyla
Rissa tridactyla#Translingual

A seabird species in the gull family Laridae, Rissa tridactyla.


ivory gull

Pagophila eburnea
Pagophila eburnea#Translingual

An Arctic seabird species in the gull family Laridae, Pagophila eburnea.


slender-billed gull

slender-billed gull (plural slender-billed gulls)

Chroicocephalus genei
Chroicocephalus genei#Translingual

Chroicocephalus genei, a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean.


Bonaparte's gull

Bonaparte's gull (plural Bonaparte's gulls)

Named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who contributed to the taxonomy and nomenclature of birds in North America.

Chroicocephalus philadelphia, a member of the gull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America.


Ross's gull

Rhodostethia rosea
Rhodostethia rosea#Translingual

Rhodostethia rosea, a small gull breeding in the high Arctic of northernmost North America, and northeast Siberia.


Mediterranean gull

Mediterranean gull (plural Mediterranean gulls)

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Ichthyaetus melanocephalus#Translingual

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, a small gull of the Western Palearctic.


white-eyed gull

white-eyed gull (plural white-eyed gulls)

Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus
Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus#Translingual

Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus, a small gull that is endemic to the Red Sea.


Pallas's gull

Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus#Translingual

Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus, a large migratory gull that breeds in colonies in marshes and islands from southern Russia to Mongolia.


Audouin's gull

Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus, a large gull restricted to the Mediterranean and the western coast of Saharan Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.


ring-billed gull

ring-billed gull (plural ring-billed gulls)

Larus delawarensis
Larus delawarensis#Translingual

Larus delawarensis, a medium-sized gull of temperate North America.


yellow-legged gull

yellow-legged gull (plural yellow-legged gulls)

Larus michahellis
Larus michahellis#Translingual

Larus michahellis, a large gull of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.


Caspian gull

Larus cachinnans
Larus cachinnans#Translingual


Iceland gull

Larus glaucoides
Larus glaucoides#Translingual

Larus glaucoides, a medium size gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland.


slaty-backed gull

slaty-backed gull (plural slaty-backed gulls)

Larus schistisagus
Larus schistisagus#Translingual


mew gull

The North American subspecies of the common gull.


karoro

A seagull (Larus dominicanus) found on the coasts of New Zealand and many other coasts of the Southern Hemisphere,