Duck is the surname of:
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the waterfowl family Anatidae, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the family Anatidae; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.
The word duck comes from Old English *dūce "diver", a derivative of the verb *dūcan "to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen "to dive".
This word replaced Old English ened/ænid "duck", possibly to avoid confusion with other Old English words, like ende "end" with similar forms. Other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck", for example, Dutch eend "duck" and German Ente "duck". The word ened/ænid was inherited from Proto-Indo-European; compare: Latin anas "duck", Lithuanian ántis "duck", Ancient Greek nēssa/nētta (νῆσσα, νῆττα) "duck", and Sanskrit ātí "water bird", among others.
Duck is a name applied to several bird species of the family Anatidae.
Duck, The Duck or ducks may also refer to:
Duck (aka duckling) refers to the meat of several species of bird in the family Anatidae, found in both fresh and salt water; a species of freshwater duck, the mallard, has been domesticated and is a common livestock bird in many parts of the world. Duck is eaten in various cuisines around the world.
The most common duck meat consumed in the United States is the Pekin duck. Because most commercially raised Pekins come from Long Island, New York, Pekins are also sometimes called "Long Island" ducks, despite being of Chinese origin. Some specialty breeds have become more popular in recent years, notably the Muscovy duck, and the mulard duck (a sterile hybrid of Pekins and Muscovies). Unlike most other domesticated ducks, Muscovy ducks are not descended from mallards.
Duck is particularly predominant in the Chinese cuisine — a popular dish is Peking duck, which is made from the Pekin duck. They are commonly eaten with scallions, cucumbers and hoisin sauce wrapped in a tortilla-like pancake made of flour and water or a soft, risen bun known as gebao (割包). According to the USDA, nearly 26 million ducks were eaten in the U.S. in 2004.