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vulture

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

Etymology

Borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman vultur, from Old French voutoir, voutre, from Latin vultur, voltur.

Pronunciation

Noun

vulture (plural vultures)

  1. Any of several carrion-eating birds of the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae.
    • 1912, Flight:
      The outer third of the wing of a vulture consists of the wing tips. The inner two-thirds of the wing are cambered (when the wing is extended), and are concerned with lifting effort in unsoarable air and with lifting and tractive effort in soarable air.
    • 1982, Michael Bishop, No enemy but time:
      In clusters on the plain, like cowlless monks at matins, sat the vultures that had settled on the corpse of the hyena impaled by the female rhino []
  2. (figurative, colloquial) A person who profits from the suffering of others.
    Synonyms: ambulance chaser, vampire
    Within ten minutes of the accident, the vultures appeared and were organizing lawsuits.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

vulture (third-person singular simple present vultures, present participle vulturing, simple past and past participle vultured)

  1. (figurative, colloquial) To circle around one's target as if one were a vulture.
    Rudy vultured when asking the girl out.

Adjective

vulture

  1. (obsolete) ravenous; rapacious

Further reading

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Latin

Noun

vulture

  1. ablative singular of vultur

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