any of various sea birds, such as the albatross, fulmar, or shearwater
Word origin
C17: from Dutch mallemok from mal silly + mok gull
mollymawk in American English
(ˈmɑliˌmɔk)
noun
any of various oceanic birds, as the fulmar or albatross
Also: mallemuck, mollymoke
Word origin
[1685–95; ‹ D mallemok, equiv. to malle, var. of mal foolish + mok ‹ Norw makmew2]This word is first recorded in the period 1685–95. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: accumulator, fatigue, protectorate, sideline, sterilize