bird
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
| Picture dictionary | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
||||||||
|
Pronunciation [edit]
- enPR: bû(r)d, IPA: /bɜː(r)d/, X-SAMPA: /b3:(r)d/
-
Audio (US) (file) - (mid-20th-century New York City) IPA: /bɜjd/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(r)d
Etymology 1 [edit]
From Middle English, from Old English bird, brid, bridd (“young bird, chick”), of uncertain origin and relation.
Noun [edit]
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.
- (dated, 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'!
- 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, p. 24:
- The door opened and a tall hungry-looking bird with a cane and a big nose came in neatly, shut the door behind him against the pressure of the door closer, marched over to the desk and placed a wrapped parcel on the desk.
- 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.
Synonyms [edit]
- (man): chap, bloke, guy
- (woman): broad, chick, dame, girl, lass
- See also Wikisaurus:woman
- See also Wikisaurus:girl
Hyponyms [edit]
- See also Wikisaurus:bird
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from bird
Translations [edit]
animal
|
|
person
woman
|
|
girlfriend
See also [edit]
- burd
- squawk
- Appendix: Animals
Bird on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Bird on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons
Aves on Wikispecies. Wikispecies: Aves
Verb [edit]
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
- To catch or shoot birds.
- (figuratively) To seek for game or plunder; to thieve.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)
Etymology 2 [edit]
Originally Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from bird-lime for "time"
Noun [edit]
bird (uncountable)
- A prison sentence.
- He’s doing bird.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
time in prison
Etymology 3 [edit]
Dated in the mid‐18th Century; derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”.
Noun [edit]
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.
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
vulgar hand gesture
|
|
Etymology 4 [edit]
From Malay burung (“bird / penis”).
Noun [edit]
bird (plural birds)
- (Asian slang) A penis.
- Don't Touch My Bird.
Translations [edit]
penis
References [edit]
- “bird” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
