vulture C2+ Topic:Animals US /ˈvʌl.tʃɚ/ UK /ˈvʌl.tʃə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a large carrion-eating bird of prey, or a person who preys on others' misfortune The injured deer drew vultures circling overhead. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a large carrion-eating bird... buzzardcondorscavengerpredatorexploiterprofiteer Word family Derived forms vulturinevulturousvulturish Related forms vulturine Etymology AI details From Anglo-Norman vultur, from Latin vultur ('vulture'), possibly related to vellere ('to pluck, tear'). vultur Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Animals External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # vulture **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈvʌl.tʃɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈvʌl.tʃə/ ## Meanings 1. a large carrion-eating bird of prey, or a person who preys on others' misfortune ## Examples - The injured deer drew vultures circling overhead. ## Synonyms - buzzard - condor - scavenger - predator - exploiter - profiteer ## Derived Forms - vulturine - vulturous - vulturish ## Related Forms - vulturine ## Roots and Affixes - Root: vultur ## Etymology From Anglo-Norman vultur, from Latin vultur ('vulture'), possibly related to vellere ('to pluck, tear'). ## AI Etymology Vulture comes from Anglo-Norman vultur, from Latin vultur ('vulture'), possibly related to vellere ('to pluck, tear'). In current use it is a noun meaning "a large carrion-eating bird of prey, or a person who preys on others' misfortune". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The uncertainty belongs to the etymology itself and should be kept: the older ancestry is not presented as more secure than it is. A central historical form is Latin vultur. Related English forms include vulturine. Derived forms include vulturine, vulturous, and vulturish. The safest dictionary treatment is to keep the secure forms and the uncertainty together, since the doubtful step is part of the word's history rather than a gap to fill by guesswork. ## Topics - Animals markdown