lapwing
/ˈlæpwɪŋ/ noun
Forms lapwings
- noun Any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae.
- noun The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).
- noun (obsolete) A silly man.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English lapwynge, lapwynke, lappewincke, lapwynche, lhapwynche, from Old English hlēapewince (“lapwing”), from Old English hlēapan (“to leap”) + wincian (“to wink, make a sign”), due to its manner of flight. Cognate with West Frisian ljip (“lapwing”).
The modern form is influenced by folk etymology to resemble English wing.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A small European bird of the Plover family (Vanellus cristatus, or V. vanellus). It has long and broad wings, and is noted for its rapid, irregular fight, upwards, downwards, and in circles. Its back is coppery or greenish bronze. Its eggs are the "plover's eggs" of the London market, esteemed a delicacy. It is called also peewit, dastard plover, and wype. The gray lapwing is the Squatarola cinerea.
Etymology [OE.lapwynke, leepwynke, AS. hleápewince; hleápan to leap, jump + (prob.) a word akin to AS. wincian to wink, E. wink, AS. wancol wavering; cf. G. wanken to stagger, waver. See Leap, and Wink.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “lapwing”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details