Adjacent Words

Bird definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BIRD, n. burd.
1. Properly, a chicken, the young of fowls, and hence a small fowl.
2. In modern use, any fowl or flying animal.
It is remarkable that a nation should lay aside the use of the proper generic name of flying animals, and substitute the name of the young of those animals, as the generic term. The fact is precisely what it would be to make lamb, the generic name of sheep,or colt, that of the equine genus.
BIRD, v.t. To catch birds.
Bird of paradise, a genus of birds, found in the Oriental isles, and in New Guinea; some of them remarkable beautiful. The beak is covered with a belt or collar of downy feathers at the base, and the feathers on the sides are very long. The longest species is two feet four inches in length. The head and back part of the neck are lemon-colored; the neck of the brightest emerald green, soft like velvet; the breast is black; the wings of a chestnut color. The back part of the body is covered with long straight narrow feathers, of a pale brown color, similar to the plumes of the ostrich. These are spread when the bird flies, for which reason he cannot keep long on the wing. From the rump proceed two long stiff shafts, feathered at the extremities.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
2: the flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food [syn: bird, fowl]
3: informal terms for a (young) woman [syn: dame, doll, wench, skirt, chick, bird]
4: a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt [syn: boo, hoot, Bronx cheer, hiss, raspberry, razzing, razz, snort, bird]
5: badminton equipment consisting of a ball of cork or rubber with a crown of feathers [syn: shuttlecock, bird, birdie, shuttle] v
1: watch and study birds in their natural habitat [syn: bird, birdwatch]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English brid, bird, from Old English bridd Date: before 12th century 1. archaic the young of a feathered vertebrate 2. any of a class (Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings 3. a game bird 4. clay pigeon 5. a. fellow b. a peculiar person c. chiefly British girl 6. shuttlecock 7. chiefly British a. a hissing or jeering sound expressive of disapproval b. dismissal from employment 8. a thin piece of meat rolled up with stuffing and cooked 9. a man-made object (as an aircraft, rocket, or satellite) that resembles a bird especially by flying or being aloft 10. an obscene gesture of contempt made by pointing the middle finger upward while keeping the other fingers down — usually used with the; called also finger 11. birdie 2 • birdlike adjective II. intransitive verb Date: 1918 to observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment

Britannica Concise

Any member of the warm-blooded vertebrate class Aves, containing about 8,700 living species. A covering of feathers distinguishes birds from all other animals. They have a four-chambered heart (like mammals), forelimbs modified into wings, an egg with a calcium-containing shell, and keen vision. Their sense of smell is not highly developed. Birds are found almost worldwide in diverse habitats. Dietary preferences and nest structure vary widely. Almost all species incubate their eggs. The big flying birds have evolved skeletons in which part of the bone is replaced by air spaces, an adaptation for reducing weight. The crop, an enlarged part of the esophagus used for temporary food storage, enables birds to feed while in flight. Humans use wild and domesticated birds and their eggs for food, hunt wild birds for sport, and use feathers for decoration and insulation. More than 1,000 extinct species of bird have been identified from fossil remains; the earliest known fossil bird is the archaeopteryx.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a feathered vertebrate with a beak, with two wings and two feet, egg-laying and usu. able to fly. 2 a game-bird. 3 Brit. sl. a young woman. 4 colloq. a person (a wily old bird). 5 sl. a a prison. b rhymingsl. a prison sentence (short for birdlime = time). Phrases and idioms: bird-bath a basin in a garden etc. with water for birds to bathe in. bird-call 1 a bird's natural call. 2 an instrument imitating this. bird cherry a wild cherry Prunus padus. bird-fancier a person who knows about, collects, breeds, or deals in, birds. a bird in the hand something secured or certain. the bird is (or has) flown the prisoner, quarry, etc., has escaped. bird- (or birds'-) nesting hunting for birds' nests, usu. to get eggs. bird of paradise any bird of the family Paradiseidae found chiefly in New Guinea, the males having very beautiful brilliantly coloured plumage. bird of passage 1 a migrant. 2 any transient visitor. bird of prey see PREY. bird sanctuary an area where birds are protected and encouraged to breed. the birds and the bees euphem. sexual activity and reproduction. bird's-eye --n. 1 any of several plants having small bright round flowers, such as the germander speedwell. 2 a pattern with many small spots. --adj. of or having small bright round flowers (bird's-eye primrose). bird's-eye view a general view from above. bird's-foot (pl. bird's-foots) any plant like the foot of a bird, esp. of the genus Lotus, having claw-shaped pods. bird's nest soup soup made (esp. in Chinese cookery) from the dried gelatinous coating of the nests of swifts and other birds. birds of a feather people of like character. bird-strike a collision between a bird and an aircraft. bird table a raised platform on which food for birds is placed. bird-watcher a person who observes birds in their natural surroundings. bird-watching this occupation. for (or strictly for) the birds colloq. trivial, uninteresting. get the bird sl. 1 be dismissed. 2 be hissed at or booed. like a bird without difficulty or hesitation. a little bird an unnamed informant. Etymology: OE brid, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bird Bird, v. i. 1. To catch or shoot birds. 2. Hence: To seek for game or plunder; to thieve. [R.] --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bird Bird (b[~e]rd), n. [OE. brid, bred, bird, young bird, bird, AS. bridd young bird. [root]92.] 1. Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2). That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird. --Shak. The brydds [birds] of the aier have nestes. --Tyndale (Matt. viii. 20). 2. (Zo["o]l.) A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with wings. See Aves. 3. Specifically, among sportsmen, a game bird. 4. Fig.: A girl; a maiden. And by my word! the bonny bird In danger shall not tarry. --Campbell. Arabian bird, the phenix. Bird of Jove, the eagle. Bird of Juno, the peacock. Bird louse (Zo["o]l.), a wingless insect of the group Mallophaga, of which the genera and species are very numerous and mostly parasitic upon birds. -- Bird mite (Zo["o]l.), a small mite (genera Dermanyssus, Dermaleichus and allies) parasitic upon birds. The species are numerous. Bird of passage, a migratory bird. Bird spider (Zo["o]l.), a very large South American spider (Mygale avicularia). It is said sometimes to capture and kill small birds. Bird tick (Zo["o]l.), a dipterous insect parasitic upon birds (genus Ornithomyia, and allies), usually winged.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(birds) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A bird is a creature with feathers and wings. Female birds lay eggs. Most birds can fly. N-COUNT 2. Some men refer to young women as birds. This use could cause offence. (BRIT INFORMAL) N-COUNT 3. see also game bird 4. see also early bird 5. If you refer to two people as birds of a feather, you mean that they have the same interests or are very similar. PHRASE: v-link PHR 6. A bird in the hand is something that you already have and do not want to risk losing by trying to get something else. PHRASE 7. If you say that a little bird told you about something, you mean that someone has told you about it, but you do not want to say who it was. PHRASE 8. If you say that doing something will kill two birds with one stone, you mean that it will enable you to achieve two things that you want to achieve, rather than just one. PHRASE: V inflects

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Birds are divided in the Mosaic law into two classes, (1) the clean (Lev. 1:14-17; 5:7-10; 14:4-7), which were offered in sacrifice; and (2) the unclean (Lev. 11:13-20). When offered in sacrifice, they were not divided as other victims were (Gen. 15:10). They are mentioned also as an article of food (Deut. 14:11). The art of snaring wild birds is referred to (Ps. 124:7; Prov. 1:17; 7:23; Jer. 5:27). Singing birds are mentioned in Ps. 104:12; Eccl. 12:4. Their timidity is alluded to (Hos. 11:11). The reference in Ps. 84:3 to the swallow and the sparrow may be only a comparison equivalent to, "What her house is to the sparrow, and her nest to the swallow, that thine altars are to my soul."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Fowl, fowl of the air.

Moby Thesaurus

Bronx cheer, Jane, atomic warhead, avifauna, baby bird, bastard, biddy, bird of Jove, bird of Juno, bird of Minerva, bird of night, bird of passage, bird of prey, birdie, birdlife, birdy, bitch, boo, broad, bugger, cage bird, cat, catcall, chap, character, chick, cygnet, dame, diving bird, doll, dove, duck, eagle, eaglet, feller, fellow, fish-eating bird, fledgling, flightless bird, fowl, fruit-eating bird, fulmar, game bird, guided missile, guy, hen, hiss, hoot, insect-eating bird, jasper, joker, lad, migrant, migratory bird, minx, missile, nestling, nuclear warhead, oscine bird, owl, passerine bird, payload, peacock, peafowl, peahen, perching bird, pigeon, pooh, pooh-pooh, ratite, razz, rocket, sea bird, seed-eating bird, shore bird, skirt, songbird, squab, storm petrel, stormy petrel, stud, swan, thermonuclear warhead, tomato, torpedo, wading bird, war rocket, warbler, warhead, water bird, waterfowl, wench, wildfowl