fləˈmiŋ(ˌ)gō noun
( plural flamingos also flamingoes )
Etymology: Portuguese, from Spanish flamenco, probably from Old Provençal flamenc, from flama flame, blaze, fire (from Latin flamma ) + -enc 2 -ing, of Germanic origin — more at flame
1. : any of several aquatic birds that constitute the family Phoenicopteridae and with related extinct birds the suborder Phoenicopteri of the order Ciconiiformes, that have remarkably long legs and neck, webbed feet, a broad lamellated bill resembling that of a duck but abruptly bent downward, and usually rosy-white plumage with scarlet wing coverts and black wing quills, and that are gregarious, breeding in colonies and building nests of mud in swamps and shallow lagoons and laying but one or two eggs
2. : a moderate reddish orange that is duller and slightly redder than crab apple and redder and lighter than burnt ocher
3. : a synchronized swimming stunt executed from a back layout position in which the legs are brought successively to the vertical and held in such position while the upper trunk drops backward to a head-down position after which the body is submerged
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