FINCH

finch

(noun) any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

finch (plural finches)

Any bird of the family Fringillidae, seed-eating passerine birds, native chiefly to the Northern Hemisphere and usually having a conical beak.

Verb

finch (third-person singular simple present finches, present participle finching, simple past and past participle finched)

To hunt for finches, to go finching.

Proper noun

Finch

A surname, from finch as a byname or for a catcher and seller of finches.

Source: Wiktionary

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Finch, n.; pl. Fishes. Etym: [AS. finc; akin to D. vink, OHG. fincho, G. fink; cf. W. pinc a finch; also E. spink.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: A small singing bird of many genera and species, belonging to the family Fringillidæ.

Note: The word is often used in composition, as in chaffinch, goldfinch, grassfinch, pinefinch, etc. Bramble finch. See Brambling.

– Canary finch, the canary bird.

– Copper finch. See Chaffinch.

– Diamond finch. See under Diamond.

– Finch falcon (Zoöl.), one of several very small East Indian falcons of the genus Hierax.

– To pull a finch, to swindle an ignorant or unsuspecting person. [Obs.] "Privily a finch eke could he pull." Chaucer.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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