Standard Lemma guide

marabou

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈmæɹəbuː/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M EH1 R AH0 B UW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Leptoptilos crumeniferus, a large wading bird native to Africa, with a naked head and neck adapted for scavenging.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adjutant stork, marabou stork

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person having five-eighths black ancestry; the offspring of a mulatto and a griffe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Louisiana, US, dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A kind of thrown raw silk, naturally nearly white, but capable of being dyed without scouring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, manufacturing, textiles

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A thin fabric made from this silk, as for scarves.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the downy feathers of marabou storks are used for trimming garments

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feather, plume, plumage

6

noun

Meaning 6

large African black-and-white carrion-eating stork; its downy underwing feathers are used to trim garments

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: marabout, marabou stork, Leptoptilus crumeniferus

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stork

History

Etymology

From French marabou, an older spelling of marabout.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: maraboe — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Bulgarian: марабу (marabu) — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Catalan: marabú — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Czech: marabu — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Dutch: maraboe — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Finnish: afrikanmarabu — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Finnish: marabu — large wading bird native to Africa
  • French: marabout — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Galician: marabú — large wading bird native to Africa
  • German: Marabu — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Italian: cicogna gozzuta — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Japanese: アメリカ禿鸛 (Amerika hagekō) — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Luo: arum — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Polish: marabut — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Portuguese: marabu — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Romanian: marabu — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Russian: марабу́ (marabú) — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Russian: пти́ца-адъюта́нт (ptíca-adʺjutánt) — large wading bird native to Africa
  • Spanish: marabú — large wading bird native to Africa