whippoorwill

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See also: whip-poor-will

English

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Alternative forms

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whippoorwill

Etymology

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Imitative of its note.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

whippoorwill (plural whippoorwills)

  1. A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.
    • 1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 55:
      “Seems like I heard a whippoorwill callinʼ, and I thought to myself, Go on away from here, weʼll whip ole Will when we find him.”
  2. The distinctive call of the above bird.
    The bird sang his whippoorwills all night.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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