Definition of "eider" [ei•der]

• Any of several large sea ducks, especially of the genus Somateria of northern regions, having soft, commercially valuable down and predominantly black and white plumage in the male. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Iceland, there is a bird called the eider duck, which is much valued on account of the soft and beautiful down which grows upon its breast, and is used for pillows and counterpanes, being wonderfully light, warm and elastic."
• "After seeing that, I really wanted something by Roni, so I got one of her images of these eider duck nests that are really protected there because people want their feathers."
• "They might have been either murres or eider ducks; we didn't have the binoculars, so we're not sure."