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Antonyms for albatross

Grammar : Noun
Spell : al-buh-traws, -tros
Phonetic Transcription : ˈæl bəˌtrɔs, -ˌtrɒs


Definition of albatross

Origin :
  • 1670s, probably from Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz "pelican" (16c.), perhaps derived from Arabic al-ghattas "sea eagle" [Barnhart]; or from Portuguese alcatruz "the bucket of a water wheel" [OED], from Arabic al-qadus "machine for drawing water, jar" (from Greek kados "jar"), in reference to the pelican's pouch (cf. Arabic saqqa "pelican," literally "water carrier"). Either way, the spelling was influenced by Latin albus "white." The name was extended, through some mistake, by English sailors to a larger sea-bird (order Tubinares).
  • Albatrosses were considered good luck by sailors; figurative sense of "burden" (1936) is from Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798) about the bad luck of a sailor who shoots an albatross and then is forced to wear its corpse as an indication that he, not the whole ship, offended against the bird. The prison-island of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay is named for pelicans that roosted there.
  • noun burden
Example sentences :
  • Only once, too, did we catch an albatross, the bird of the Southern Ocean.
  • Extract from : « Six Letters From the Colonies » by Robert Seaton
  • The Albatross soon after wore ship, and stood to the westward.
  • Extract from : « An Old Sailor's Yarns » by Nathaniel Ames
  • The Chameleon flies like an albatross—she is already the devil knows where.
  • Extract from : « A Romance of the West Indies » by Eugne Sue
  • This current is one of the favourite haunts of the albatross.
  • Extract from : « From Pole to Pole » by Sven Anders Hedin
  • The albatross is a knowing bird, or he would not follow vessels for weeks.
  • Extract from : « From Pole to Pole » by Sven Anders Hedin
  • Then the albatross steers out to sea to try his luck elsewhere.
  • Extract from : « From Pole to Pole » by Sven Anders Hedin
  • Now the albatross soars round the rocks of the "Island Cloud."
  • Extract from : « From Pole to Pole » by Sven Anders Hedin
  • Albatross cloth is generally in white, black, or solid colors.
  • Extract from : « Textiles » by William H. Dooley
  • The albatross has been seen fully 1000 miles from any shore.
  • Extract from : « Mamma's Stories about Birds » by Anonymous (AKA the author of "Chickseed without Chickweed")
  • I attacked two Albatross scouts and crashed them, killing the pilots.
  • Extract from : « The Better Germany in War Time » by Harold Picton

Synonyms for albatross

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019