What does condor mean?
The condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world, a massive New World vulture found in two species: the Andean condor of South America's Pacific coast and mountain ranges, and the California condor of North America. With wingspans that can approach three metres, bald heads, and black plumage often trimmed with white, condors are scavengers that feed primarily on carrion, soaring for great distances on thermal currents with little effort. Beyond ornithology, the word has cultural weight: the Andean condor appears on the coats of arms of several South American nations and holds deep symbolic importance in Indigenous Andean cultures, while the California condor became an emblem of conservation after being rescued from near-extinction. Used figuratively, "condor" evokes vastness, altitude, and wild, remote landscapes.
nounA very large New World vulture of the genus Vultur or Gymnogyps, native to the Andes mountains and the western coastal regions of South America, or to California. The Andean condor is among the heaviest flying birds in the world.
- Either of two very large New World vultures — the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) or the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) — known for their immense wingspan and bald heads.
"A condor circled lazily above the canyon, riding the thermals on wings nearly three metres across."
"The California condor was brought back from the brink of extinction through an intensive captive breeding programme."
"In Inca tradition, the condor symbolised the heavens and ruled the upper world of the sky."
Standard plural; occasionally the plural "condor" is seen in older ornithological writing, but "condors" is now universal.
"We watched several condors spiralling upward on the morning thermals."
With a wingspan of up to ten feet, the Andean condor can soar for hours — even miles — without flapping its wings once.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of condor
The word "condor" entered English in the early seventeenth century by way of American Spanish "cóndor", which itself derives from the Quechua word "kuntur", the term used by Indigenous peoples of the Andes for the great bird long before European contact. Because its ultimate source is Quechua rather than Latin or Greek, it has essentially no cognates elsewhere in English vocabulary.
How condor is actually used
Always used as a countable noun referring to the birds themselves; it carries connotations of grandeur, wilderness, and endangered-species conservation, particularly in American usage because of the California condor's famous recovery story.
Easily confused with condor
"Vulture" is the general term for carrion-eating birds worldwide, while "condor" refers specifically to the two largest New World vulture species.