centzontle

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See also: centzontlé

English

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Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish cenzontle, from Classical Nahuatl centzontleh, shortened form of centzontlahtōleh (mockingbird, literally possessor of four hundred words), from centzontli (four hundred, a count of four hundred) + tlahtōlli (language, word, statement) + -eh (possessor of).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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centzontle (plural centzontles)

  1. (rare) A mockingbird.
    • 1961, Oscar Lewis, The Children of Sánchez: Autobiography of a Mexican Family:
      He had bought young centzontles and it was Roberto's and Manuel's job to whistle at them until they learned to sing. But the birds picked at the cane and made an opening through which a dozen and a half escaped.