eiderdown

Where does the word "eiderdown" come from? It comes from Icelandic æðardúnn, and was adopted directly into English (1770s).

Eiderdown’s story begins in Icelandic: æðardúnn meant “eider down.” Down gathered from the nests of the eider duck, still harvested on Iceland's coasts. It reached English by 1770s as eiderdown. Came to mean a quilt stuffed with it. Today, eiderdown means a quilt stuffed with down; the soft down of the eider duck.

1. Stage 1 · Icelandic · medieval æðardúnn "eider down", down gathered from the nests of the eider duck, still harvested on Iceland's coasts.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1770s eiderdown "down quilt", came to mean a quilt stuffed with it.