jackdaw
UK /ˈdʒækˌdɔː/ · US /ˈd͡ʒækˌdɔ/ noun
Forms jackdaws
- noun A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins, where it frequently likes to nest.
Synonyms
Etymology
Compound of jack + daw. The first element, also present in Low German (North Saxon) Jöker (“jackdaw”), may refer either to its characteristic call, often represented as tchak-tchak, maybe influenced by association with the name Jack. The second element means “jackdaw” in itself, from Old English *dāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *dāhwā. Cognate with Old Prussian doacke (“starling”), Latin faccilāre (“the sound or timbre of the thrush”), and German Dohle (“jackdaw”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Daw, n.
Etymology [Prob. 2d jack + daw, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “jackdaw”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details