Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family, part of the order Charadriiformes. In Europe, the term covers two genera, Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called murres and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots".
The current spelling guillemot is of French origin, first attested by Pierre Belon in 1555, but derived from Old (11th century) French willelm, and matched by English variants willock (attested 1631), willick,... more
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