geoduck

English

Geoduck clam

Alternative forms

• geoduc, geoduk
• goeduck, goeyduc, goeyduck, gooeduck, gooeyduc, gooeyduck, gweduck, gooiduck, gueduc, gweduc, gwiduck, gooeyduk, gooyduck

Etymology

From Lushootseed gʷídəq, variously understood as reference to its deep digging or resemblance to male genitalia. The unusual spelling of the first syllable is thought to represent editorial hypercorrection of forms with goe- &c. (probably under influence from the common prefix geo-), despite the earlier attestation of forms with geo-. The spelling pronunciation /ˈdʒiːəʊdʌk/ once listed in dictionaries is now considered nonstandard. The common spelling of the second syllable is under influence from duck, originally with reference to the mollusc's resemblance to the body and neck of a dead duck.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡuːɪdʌk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡuiˌdək/
• Rhymes: -ʌk

Noun

geoduck (countable and uncountable, plural geoducks)

1. (uncountable) The species of large saltwater clam Panopea generosa, native to the northeast Pacific coasts from Alaska to Washington State, distinguished by its deep burrowing and long unprotected siphon.
   • 1881, H. Hemphill, letter in the Bulletin of the US Fishing Commission, No. 1, p. 21:

     Glycimeris generosa. Olympia, Washington Territory... The boys at Olympia call them ‘Geoducks’; they dig them on a certain sand bar at extreme low tide, and sell them to a merchant who ships them to Portland, Oreg... The boys inform me that the Indians on the Sound... dry them for food with the other clams.

   • 2004 April, Smithsonian, page 92:

     I survey the ice-lined crates containing sea snails, rock cod, sea urchin and a Vancouver favorite, geoduck (pronounced gooey-duck)—a giant clam.

   1. (countable) a member of the species.
   2. (uncountable) its flesh as a seafood.
2. (New Zealand) Other species of Panopea, especially Panopea zelandica, native to the coasts of New Zealand.
   • 1989 November 6, Listener, page 33:

     Alick Shaw... uses up to 14 kilograms of geoduck in chowder weekly...

Synonyms

• geoduck clam, king clam, elephant trunk clam, mirugai, mirukuigai

Translations

P. generosa

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 象拔蚌 (zoeng⁶ bat⁶ pong⁵)

  Mandarin: 象拔蚌 (zh) (xiàngbábàng), 太平洋潛泥蛤／太平洋潜泥蛤 (Tàipíng Yáng qiánnígé), 皇帝蚌 (huángdìbàng), 女神蛤 (zh) (nǚshéngé)

• Finnish: geoduck
• French: geoduck
• German: Elefantenrüsselmuschel f
• Japanese: アメリカナミガイ (amerikanamigai)
• Korean: 코끼리조개 (kokkirijogae)
• Lushootseed: ɡʷidəq
• Malay: siput belalai, siput belalai gajah
• Maori: hoehoe, hohehohe
• Russian: гуида́к m (guidák)
• Spanish: geoduck f

References

• “geoduck”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “geoduck, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Anagrams

• goeduck

French

Etymology

From Lushootseed gʷídəq, assimilated to géo-.

Noun

geoduck f (plural geoducks)

1. geoduck (“Panopea generosa”)

Synonyms

• palourde royale
• chibre marin
• panope du Pacifique
• panopée

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English geoduck, from Lushootseed gʷídəq.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡuidak/ [ˈɡui̯.ð̞ak]
• Rhymes: -uidak

Noun

geoduck f (plural geoducks)

1. geoduck (“Panopea generosa”)

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.