From humming(noun) + bird, in reference to the humming sound made by the rapidly moving wings.
Pronunciation
Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.IPA(key): /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/
Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.IPA(key): /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɜːd/
Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "North England" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.IPA(key): /ˈhʌmɪnˌbɜːd/
Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover.
1857 Thoreau, Henry David, journal entry, May 29, 1857. From Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, Boston: Beacon Press, 1993, p238. (Originally published as the anthology Thoreau's bird-lore, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1910, edited by Francis H. Allen.)
Soon I hear the low all-pervading hum of an approaching hummingbird circling above the rock, [...]
Related terms
any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae
