roostertail

Shape of a rooster's tail.

English

Alternative forms

• rooster-tail

Etymology

From rooster +‎ tail, from analogy with the shape of a rooster's feathered tail.

Noun

Three PT boats travelling at high speed, leaving prominent roostertails of water behind them.

roostertail (plural roostertails)

1. A violent fountain or spray, especially one caused by a moving vehicle or boat.
   • 1988, Libby Riddles, Race Across Alaska: First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells Her Story‎^[1], →ISBN, page 21:

     A roostertail of snow kicked up behind me.

Verb

roostertail (third-person singular simple present roostertails, present participle roostertailing, simple past and past participle roostertailed)

1. To pour like a fountain; to spurt violently.
   • 2005, Pete Watson, “The Prisoner”, in The Heart of the Lion‎^[2], →ISBN:

     The red dust of Tanguieta rolling and roostertailing behind us.

2. To move rapidly through water, leaving a roostertail wake.
   • 2005, Dave Ames, A Good Life Wasted‎^[3], →ISBN, page 197:

     The shiny new aluminum tribal Jet-Boat roostertailed up the river, straight for us, kicking up a wake that rocked our boat hard enough to knock the cards off the cooler.

Usage notes

• To refer to the actual tail of a rooster, "rooster's tail" or "rooster tail" are usually used.