bird
/ˈbɜːd/ noun, verb, adjective, proper noun
Also a form of Byrd
Forms birds birding birded birdier birdiest Byrd
- noun An animal of the clade (traditionally class) Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, having a beaked mouth, and laying eggs. “Ducks and sparrows are birds.”
- noun (obsolete) Any winged animal.
- noun (obsolete) A young bird, a nestling.
- noun (slang) A man, fellow.
- noun (UK, Ireland, colloquial) A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.
- noun (UK, Ireland, colloquial, by extension) A girlfriend. “Mike went out with his bird last night.”
- noun (slang) An aircraft.
- noun (slang) A satellite.
- verb (intransitive) To observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment.
- verb (intransitive) To catch or shoot birds; to hunt birds.
- verb (intransitive, figuratively) To seek for game or plunder; to thieve.
- verb (transitive, television) To transmit via satellite.
- adjective (Canada, colloquial, of a school or university course) Able to be passed with very little work; having the nature of a bird course.
- noun (slang) A prison sentence. “He’s doing bird.”
- verb (transitive, slang) To bring into prison, to roof.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun (jazz) Nickname of Charlie Parker (1920–1955), jazz saxophonist.
Synonyms
avian fowl feathered friend feathered folk bloke chap guy boy bro broski bruh cat chappy chield cove covey dog [⇒ thesaurus] (slang) dawg dude fella dame doll wench skirt chick boo hoot Bronx cheer hiss raspberry
Etymology
From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century.
The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dated in the mid‐18th century.
Originally Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from bird-lime for "time".
* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun bird.
* As an Irish surname, Anglicized/translated from several names erroneously thought to contain the element éan (“bird”) such as Ó hÉinigh (see Heagney), Ó hÉanna (see Heaney), Ó hÉanacháin (see Heneghan) and Mac an Déaghanaigh (see McEneaney).
* Similarly translated from several other languages containing the word bird, such as German Vogel, French Loiseau, Czech Ptáček see Ptacek), Pták, Polish Ptak.
* This also extends to Native American names, such as Lakota ziŋtkala (“bird”). Compare Eagle, Hawk; Blackbird, Kingbird, Redbird, etc.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2).
- noun A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with wings. See Aves.
- verb To catch or shoot birds.
- verb Hence: To seek for game or plunder; to thieve. [R.] B. Jonson.
Etymology [OE. brid, bred, bird, young bird, bird, AS. bridd young bird. 1. Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2). That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird. Shak. The brydds [birds]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bird”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details