egret
UK /ˈiːɡɹɪt/ · US /ˈiɡɹɪt/ noun
Forms egrets
- noun Any of various wading birds of the genera Egretta or Ardea that includes herons, many of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season.
- noun A plume or tuft of feathers worn as a part of a headdress, or anything imitating such an ornament.
- noun (botany) The flying feathery or hairy crown of seeds or achenes, such as the down of the thistle.
- noun (obsolete) The crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman egret, aigrette (“egret”), from Old Occitan aigreta, diminutive of aigron (“heron”), from Medieval Latin hairo, from Frankish *haigro (“heron”). Cognate with Old High German heigaro (“heron”), Old English hrāgra (“heron”). Doublet of aigrette. More at heron.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The name of several species of herons which bear plumes on the back. They are generally white. Among the best known species are the American egret (Ardea, or Herodias, egretta); the great egret (A. alba); the little egret (A. garzetta), of Europe; and the American snowy egret (A. candidissima).
- noun A plume or tuft of feathers worn as a part of a headdress, or anything imitating such an ornament; an aigrette.
Etymology [See Aigret, Heron.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “egret”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details