marabou

• marabu, marabout

From French marabou, an older spelling of marabout.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmæɹəbuː/

marabou (plural marabous)

1. Leptoptilos crumeniferus, a large wading bird native to Africa, with a naked head and neck adapted for scavenging.

   Synonyms: adjutant stork, marabou stork

2. (dated, US, Louisiana) A person having five-eighths black ancestry; the offspring of a mulatto and a griffe.
   • 1815, Mungo Park, The Journal of a Mission to the Interior of Africa:

     Madimarian , a Marabou, killed me a bullock; I give him one bottle of powder.

3. (textiles) A kind of thrown raw silk, naturally nearly white, but capable of being dyed without scouring.
4. A thin fabric made from this silk, as for scarves.