gallinules
plural of gallinule
Source: Wiktionary
Gal"li*nule, n. Etym: [L. gallinula chicken, dim. of gallina hen: cf. F. gallinule.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: One of several wading birds, having long, webless toes, and a frontal shield, belonging to the family Rallidae. They are remarkable for running rapidly over marshes and on floating plants. The purple gallinule of America is Ionornis Martinica, that of the Old World is Porphyrio porphyrio. The common European gallinule (Gallinula chloropus) is also called moor hen, water hen, water rail, moor coot, night bird, and erroneously dabchick. Closely related to it is the Florida gallinule (Gallinula galeata).
Note: The purple gallinule of Southern Europe and Asia was formerly believed to be able to detect and report adultery, and for that reason, chiefly, it was commonly domesticated by the ancients.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
17 May 2025
(noun) sessile marine coelenterates including solitary and colonial polyps; the medusoid phase is entirely suppressed
The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.
