A vulture is a large bird that eats dead animals, and the word can also describe a greedy person who takes advantage of others’ bad situations.
From Old French “voutour,” from Latin “vultur” or “volture,” meaning “vulture.” The bird’s feeding habits led to its strong metaphorical use for people.
Vultures actually help clean the environment by removing rotting bodies that could spread disease. We use the bird as an insult, but ecologists see it as a crucial sanitation worker of the natural world.
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