bird
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
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[edit] Pronunciation
- enPR: bû(r)d, IPA: /bɜː(r)d/, SAMPA: /b3:(r)d/
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Audio (US) (file) - (mid-20th-century New York City) IPA: /bɜjd/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(r)d
[edit] Etymology 1
From Middle English, from Old English bird, brid, bridd (“young bird, chick”), of uncertain origin and relation.
[edit] Noun
bird (plural birds)
- A member of the class of animals Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, and laying eggs.
- Ducks and sparrows are birds.
- 2004, Bruce Whittington, Loucas Raptis, Seasons with Birds, page 50:
- The level below this is called the Phylum; birds belong to the Phylum Chordata, which includes all the vertebrate animals (the sub-phylum Vertebrata) and a few odds and ends.
- (UK, slang) A man, fellow. [from the mid-19th c.]
- 1886, Edmund Routledge, Routledge's every boy's annual
- He once took in his own mother, and was robbed by a 'pal,' who thought he was a doctor. Oh, he's a rare bird is 'Gentleman Joe'!
- 2006, Jeff Fields, Terry Kay, A cry of angels
- "Ah, he's a funny bird," said Phaedra, throwing a leg over the sill.
- 1886, Edmund Routledge, Routledge's every boy's annual
- (UK, US, slang) A girl or woman considered sexually attractive, as used by a man.
- Who’s that bird?
- (UK, Ireland, slang) Girlfriend. [from the early 20th c.]
- Mike went out with his bird last night.
- (slang) An airplane.
[edit] Synonyms
- (man ): chap, bloke, guy
- (woman): broad, chick, dame, girl, lass
- See also Wikisaurus:woman
- See also Wikisaurus:girl
[edit] Hyponyms
- See also Wikisaurus:bird
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from bird
[edit] Translations
animal
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person
woman
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girlfriend
[edit] See also
- burd
- Appendix: Animals
Bird on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Bird on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons
Aves on Wikispecies. Wikispecies: Aves
[edit] Verb
bird (third-person singular simple present birds, present participle birding, simple past and past participle birded)
- To observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment
[edit] Etymology 2
Originally Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from bird-lime for "time"
[edit] Noun
bird (uncountable)
- A prison sentence.
- He’s doing bird.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
time in prison
[edit] Etymology 3
Dated in the mid‐18th Century; derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”.
[edit] Noun
the bird (uncountable)
- The vulgar hand gesture in which the middle finger is extended.
- 2002, The Advocate, "Flying fickle finger of faith", page 55.
- For whatever reason — and there are so many to chose from — they flipped the bird in the direction of the tinted windows of the Bushmobile.
- 2003, James Patterson and Peter De Jonge, The Beach House, Warner Books, page 305,
- Then she raised both hands above her shoulders and flipped him the bird with each one.
- 2002, The Advocate, "Flying fickle finger of faith", page 55.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
vulgar hand gesture
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[edit] Etymology 4
Possible literal translation of Chinese slang or other Asian origin
[edit] Noun
bird (plural birds)
- (Filipino slang) A penis.
- Don't Touch My Bird.
[edit] Translations
penis
[edit] References
- “bird” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
