WOODCOCK

woodcock

(noun) game bird of the sandpiper family that resembles a snipe

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Woodcock

A surname.

Etymology

Noun

woodcock (plural woodcock or woodcocks)

Any of several wading birds in the genus Scolopax, of the family Scolopacidae, characterised by a long slender bill and cryptic brown and blackish plumage.

A simpleton.

Source: Wiktionary


Wood"cock`, n. Etym: [AS. wuducoc.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of several species of long-billed limicoline birds belonging to the genera Scolopax and Philohela. They are mostly nocturnal in their habits, and are highly esteemed as game birds.

Note: The most important species are the European (Scolopax rusticola) and the American woodcock (Philohela minor), which agree very closely in appearance and habits.

2. Fig.: A simpleton. [Obs.] If I loved you not, I would laugh at you, and see you Run your neck into the noose, and cry, "A woodcock!" Beau. & Fl. Little woodcock. (a) The common American snipe. (b) The European snipe.

– Sea woodcock fish, the bellows fish.

– Woodcock owl, the short-eared owl (Asio brachyotus).

– Woodcock shell, the shell of certain mollusks of the genus Murex, having a very long canal, with or without spines.

– Woodcock snipe. See under Snipe.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

29 May 2024

PERESTROIKA

(noun) an economic policy adopted in the former Soviet Union; intended to increase automation and labor efficiency but it led eventually to the end of central planning in the Russian economy


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

coffee icon