Etymologically
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condor

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 23:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒndɔː/, /ˈkɒndə/ (UK); /ˈkɑnˌdoɹ/, /ˈkɑndəɹ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish cóndor,[2][3][4][5] from Quechua kuntur.[2][3][6][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A very large South American vulture (1604 in Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and the OED, c. 1600 in Etymonline).[3][4][7][6]

Semantic evolution

The name was extended to the related California condor.[7][4] From the bird figured on them, it was also given to gold coins of some South American countries (1849).[7][2][5]

Timeline

  • 1604 – the bird.[3][4][7]
  • 1849 – a South American gold coin.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Either of two very large New World vultures, the Andean condor and the nearly extinct California condor, with a bare head and neck and dark plumage.
  2. A gold coin of some South American countries bearing the figure of a condor.

Word family

  • Andean condor
  • California condor
  • vulture
  • puma
  • llama

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press