ortolan
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
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[edit] Etymology
From Middle French hortolan (“gardener”), from Latin hortulānus (“gardener”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
ortolan (plural ortolans)
- A small European migratory bunting, Emberiza hortulana, once eaten whole as a delicacy.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book VII, chapter vi
- […] this taught him to consider Sophia as a most delicious morsel, indeed to regard her with the same desires which an ortolan inspires into the soul of an epicure.
- 2003, Stewart Lee Allen, In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food, page 73
- […] the last flavor Mitterand wished to savor belonged to the flesh of the endangered ortolan, a songbird the size of a human toe that is a crime to buy or hunt, and is certainly illegal to eat. Mitterand devoured it in the traditional manner, first covering his head with an embroidered cloth, then inserting the entire bird into his mouth. […] Only its head should dangle out from between your lips. Bite off the head and discard.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book VII, chapter vi
- (US) Any of various similar birds, especially the bobolink, sora, or snow bunting.
[edit] Quotations
- For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.
[edit] Hypernyms
[edit] Translations
a small bird eaten as a delicacy
[edit] French
[edit] Etymology
Middle French, from Latin
[edit] Noun
ortolan m. (plural ortolans)
- ortolan (small bird)
