dovecote

English

WOTD – 24 December 2011

A dovecote (1) with birds

Alternative forms

• dovecot

Etymology

Compound of dove +‎ cote.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdʌv.kɒt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʌv.kɑt/

Noun

dovecote (plural dovecotes)

1. A small house or box, raised to a considerable height above the ground, and having compartments, in which domestic pigeons breed; a dove house.
2. (historical) In medieval Europe, a round or square structure of stone or wood, free-standing or built into a tower, in which pigeons were kept.

Quotations

• 2003, Peter Ackroyd, The Clerkenwell Tales, 2003, p2.

  she could see the malt-house with its dovecote

Synonyms

• columbarium
• doocot (Scottish English)
• dovehouse

Related terms

• flutter in the dovecote
• dove

Translations

house or box in which domestic pigeons breed

• Basque: usategi
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鴿棚 (zh), 鸽棚 (zh) (gēpéng)

• Classical Nahuatl: huīlōcalli
• Dutch: duiventil (nl) m, duivenkot (nl) n
• Esperanto: kolombejo
• Finnish: kyyhkyslakka (fi)
• French: colombier (fr) m
• Galician: pombal m
• German: Taubenhaus (de) n
• Greek: περιστερώνας (el) m (peristerónas)

• Irish: colmlann f
• Lithuanian: karvelidė f
• Norman: colombyi m (Jersey)
• Polish: gołębnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: pombal m
• Romanian: porumbar (ro) m, porumbărie (ro) f
• Russian: голубя́тня (ru) f (golubjátnja)
• Serbo-Croatian: golubarnik (sh)
• Spanish: palomar m
• Tagalog: bahay-kalapati
• Volapük: pijunöp, pejilitöp (obsolete)