BUZZARD

buzzard, Buteo buteo

(noun) the common European short-winged hawk

buzzard, turkey buzzard, turkey vulture, Cathartes aura

(noun) a New World vulture that is common in South America and Central America and the southern United States

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Buzzard (plural Buzzards)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Buzzard is the 9845th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 3287 individuals. Buzzard is most common among White (87.5%) individuals.

Etymology

Noun

buzzard (plural buzzards)

Any of several Old World birds of prey of the genus Buteo with broad wings and a broad tail.

(North America) Any scavenging bird such as the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) or the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).

(colloquial, derogatory, slang, often preceded by "old", the "old buzzard") In North America, a curmudgeonly or cantankerous man; an old person; a mean, greedy person.

(archaic) A blockhead; a dunce.

(golf) synonym of double bogey

Synonyms

• buteo

• broadwing

• turkey vulture

• vulture

Source: Wiktionary


Buz"zard, n.Etym: [O.E. busard, bosard, F. busard, fr. buse, L. buteo, a kind of falcon or hawk.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A bird of prey of the Hawk family, belonging to the genus Buteo and related genera.

Note: The Buteo vulgaris is the common buzzard of Europe. The American species (of which the most common are B. borealis, B. Pennsylvanicus, and B. lineatus) are usually called hen hawks.

– The rough-legged buzzard, or bee hawk, of Europe (Pernis apivorus) feeds on bees and their larvæ, with other insects, and reptiles.

– The moor buzzard of Europe is Circus æruginosus. See Turkey buzzard, and Carrion buzzard. Bald buzzard, the fishhawk or osprey. See Fishhawk.

2. A blockhead; a dunce. It is common, to a proverb, to call one who can not be taught, or who continues obstinately ignorant, a buzzard. Goldsmith.

Buz"zard, a.

Definition: Senseless; stupid. [R.& Obs.] Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 January 2025

PREMATURELY

(adverb) (of childbirth) before the end of the normal period of gestation; “the child was born prematurely”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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