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/ˈpɛt.ɹəl/ · noun
Any of various species of black, grey, or white seabirds in the order Procellariiformes..
The seventh of May following, we first saw many Birds in bignesse of Cliffe Pidgeons, and after divers other as Pettrels, Cootes, Hagbuts, Pengwins, Murres, Gannets, Cormorants, Guls, with many else in our English Tongue of no name.
In a storm they will hover close under the ship's stern in the wake of the ship (as it is called) or the smoothness which the ship's passing has made on the sea; and there as they fly (gently then) they pat the water alternately with their feet as if they walked upon it; though still upon the wing. And from hence the seamen give them the name of petrels in allusion to St. Peter's walking upon the Lake of Gennesareth.
Use petrel when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Petrel means Any of various species of black, grey, or white seabirds in the order Procellariiformes..
The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
The seventh of May following, we first saw many Birds in bignesse of Cliffe Pidgeons, and after divers other as Pettrels, Cootes, Hagbuts, Pengwins, Murres, Gannets, Cormorants, Guls, with many else in our English Tongue of no name.
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