teal

Etymology

From Middle English tele, probably from an unrecorded Old English *tǣle, cognate with West Frisian tjilling (“teal”), Middle Dutch teling (“teal”) (modern Dutch taling), Middle Low German telink, from Proto-Germanic *tailijaz, of unknown ultimate origin, with no cognates outside of Germanic. As the name of a shade of dark greenish-blue like the color patterns on the fowl's head and wings, it is attested from 1923. The Australian political sense derives from the colour teal being intermediate between green (signifying environmentalism) and blue (signifying the conservative Australian Liberal Party).

noun

1. (countable) Any of various small freshwater ducks of the genus Anas that are brightly coloured and have short necks.
2. (countable and uncountable) A dark, somewhat bluish-green colour; a dark cyan.
   teal:
3. (countable, Australia, politics, chiefly attributive) A teal independent, a politician who espouses environmentally and socially progressive but economically conservative ideas, especially in the context of a group of independent candidates who ran in the 2022 federal election.
   In a bid to defend their inner-city seats, the Liberal Party has moved towards the environmental and progressive left in what can be described as a “teal strategy” that blurs the lines between the Liberals and the Greens. 2021 September 21, Kurt Wallace, “Navigating the great dividing voter range”, in IPA Today, Institute of Public Affairs
   Concerns of a targeted dirty tricks campaign targeting “teal” independents has prompted the Australian Electoral Commission to bring in its electoral integrity assurance taskforce as pre-polling opens. 2022 May 9, “AEC mobilises taskforce to investigate corflute damage”, in Sydney Morning Herald, page 10
   Ms Haines is a strong proponent of this, and many of the teal cross benchers support her approach to appointing a whistleblower protection commissioner. 2022 September 26, “Teals, Greens list watchdog demands”, in The Canberra Times, page 6

adj

1. Having a bluish-green colour