Other forms: albatrosses
An albatross is a vast ocean bird that glides for days without flapping. A wandering albatross, follow the albatross, an albatross round his neck.
The wandering albatross has the longest wingspan of any bird, over three metres, and locks its wings to soar for hours on the wind off the waves. An albatross round the neck means a burden of guilt, from Coleridge's poem about a sailor who shot one.
1nounalbatrossA vast ocean bird that glides without flapping.
“Sailors watched a huge albatross follow the ship for days across the southern ocean.”
albatross is a bird.
Probably from Portuguese alcatraz, a large seabird, altered under the influence of Latin albus, white.
Arabic
غَطَّاس — the diver
Portuguese
alcatraz — pelican, gannet, albatross
English, today
albatross
unknown. Probably from Spanish - or Portuguese alcatraz (“pelican, gannet, albatross”), probably derived from Arabic غَطَّاس (“the diver”) (compare Alcatraz); or from Portuguese alcatruz (“water wheel bucket”), from Arabic قادوس, from Ancient Greek κάδος (“pail, jar”), in reference to the pouch of a pelican. In either case, altered under the influence of Latin albus (“white”). Not derived from modern Arabic قَطْرَس (“albatross”), which is perhaps borrowed from Spanish. For sense development of "burden", see albatross around one’s neck.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA