VULTURE

vulture

(noun) any of various large diurnal birds of prey having naked heads and weak claws and feeding chiefly on carrion

marauder, predator, vulture, piranha

(noun) someone who attacks in search of booty

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

vulture (plural vultures)

Any of several carrion-eating birds of the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae.

(figurative, colloquial) A person who profits from the suffering of others.

Synonyms: ambulance chaser, vampire

Verb

vulture (third-person singular simple present vultures, present participle vulturing, simple past and past participle vultured)

(figurative, colloquial) To circle around one's target as if one were a vulture.

Source: Wiktionary

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Vul"ture, n. Etym: [OE. vultur, L. vultur: cf. OF. voltour, F. vautour.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of rapacious birds belonging to Vultur, Cathartes, Catharista, and various other genera of the family Vulturidæ.

Note: In most of the species the head and neck are naked or nearly so. They feed chiefly on carrion. The condor, king vulture, turkey buzzard, and black vulture (Catharista atrata) are well known American species. The griffin, lammergeir, and Pharaoh's chicken, or Egyptian vulture, are common Old World vultures.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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