thunderbird
UK /ˈθʌndə.bɜːd/ · US /ˈθʌndɚ.bɝd/ noun, proper noun
Forms thunderbirds
- noun (mythology) A mythological bird, often associated with stormy weather, especially in various indigenous North American mythologies.
- noun The golden whistler, an Australian insectivorous songbird (Pachycephala pectoralis, formerly Pachycephala gutturalis), whose male is conspicuously marked with black and yellow, and has a black crescent on the breast.
- noun (UK, rail transport) A locomotive stored at a strategic point on the network so as to be available to quickly rescue a failed train.
- proper noun (computing) Mozilla Thunderbird.
- proper noun (US, automotive) Ford Thunderbird.
Etymology
From thunder + bird.
The railway sense is derived from the 1960s TV series Thunderbirds, about a secretive high-tech rescue organization, ultimately from thunderbird.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An Australian insectivorous singing bird (Pachycephala gutturalis). The male is conspicuously marked with black and yellow, and has a black crescent on the breast. Called also white-throated thickhead, orange-breasted thrust, black-crowned thrush, guttural thrush, and black-breasted flycatcher.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “thunderbird”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details