See Also: Petrel(medicine)
petrel(dictionary)
petrel(encyclopedia)
petrel(dictionary)
storm petrel(dictionary)
storm petrel(encyclopedia)

petrel (iou)



petrel noun. E17.
[Perh. from PETER noun1, with allus. to St Peter's walking on the water (see Matthew 14:29), + -el by analogy with cockerel, dotterel, etc.]
Any of a number of sea birds with mainly black (or brown) and white plumage and usu. a hooked bill, of the families Procellariidae, Pelecanoididae, and Hydrobatidae, some of which feed while seeming to walk on the sea. Freq. with specifying word.
diving petrel, pintado petrel, snowy petrel, storm petrel, etc.