dotterel

English

Etymology

15th century. From dote (“to be foolish; senile”) +‎ -rel (“pejorative suffix”). The bird is so named as it is easy to catch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɒtɹəl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

dotterel (plural dotterels)

1. A gullible fool, especially an elderly person with impaired faculties. [from 15th c.]
   • 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. V, letter 88:

     This poor dotterel, Sir Arthur, is playing fast and loose with me.

2. A small brown-and-black bird, Charadrius morinellus, of the plover family. [from 15th c.]

   Synonym: Eurasian dotterel

3. (Australia, New Zealand) Any of various small birds of Australasia thought to resemble the Eurasian dotterel. [from 19th c.]

Synonyms

• (gullible fool): dotard, dote; see also Thesaurus:fool

Derived terms

Derived terms

• black-fronted dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
• Eurasian dotterel (Charadrius morinellus)
• hooded dotterel (Thinornis cucullatus, syn. Thinornis rubricollis)
• inland dotterel (Peltohyas australis, syn. Charadrius australis)
• red-kneed dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus)
• sea dotterel
• shore dotterel (Thinornis novaeseelandiae)
• tawny-throated dotterel (Oreopholus ruficollis)

Translations

bird in the plover family Charadriidae

• Bulgarian: планински дъждосвирец m (planinski dǎždosvirec)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小嘴鴴／小嘴鸻 (xiǎozuǐhéng)

• Dutch: morinelplevier (nl) m
• Finnish: kurmitsa (fi), kapustarinta (fi), tylli (fi)
• Greek: βουνοσφυριχτής m (vounosfyrichtís)
• Irish: amadán móinteach m
• Maori: kūkuruatu, tūturiwhatu, pohowera
• Portuguese: borrelho (pt) m
• Romanian: prundăraș-de-munte m, ploier-de-munte m
• Russian: ржа́нка (ru) f (ržánka), хрустан (ru) (xrustan)
• Scottish Gaelic: amadan-mòintich m
• Spanish: chorlito carambolo m

Further reading

• dotterel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Adjective

dotterel (comparative more dotterel, superlative most dotterel)

1. decayed
   • c. 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster:

     some old dotterel trees

Anagrams

• toltered