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storm-pet·rel also storm petrel (stôrmpĕtrəl)

Any of various small seabirds of the family Hydrobatidae, found in most of the world's oceans and generally having dark plumage. Also called stormy petrel.

[Probably from the fact that they take shelter in the lees of ships during storms.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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