ENGLISH
REFERENCE

stork

n.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈstɔɹk// UK //stˈɔːk// stork Humorous

n. a large bird with long legs and a long neck that lives in wet areas. People sometimes use this word to talk about a baby being born, especially in a funny way.

n. a large, long-legged wading bird of the family Ciconiidae. In a humorous or idiomatic sense, it refers to the delivery of a baby, often used in the phrase 'the stork brings a baby'.


SIMPLE

The stork flies over the lake to find food.

CONTEXTUAL

The local park is a popular spot for storks to nest during the spring months.

COMPLEX

While the scientific community focuses on the migratory patterns of the stork, the local folklore insists that the bird is responsible for delivering newborns to their families.

Origin

From Middle English stork, from Old English storc, from Proto-West Germanic stork, from Proto-Germanic sturkaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sr̥ǵos (“stork”). Near cognates include Dutch stork, German Storch, Swedish stork, and Icelandic storkur. Compare also Latvian stārķis (“stork”), borrowed from Germanic.

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