robinn.1
/ˈrɒbɪn/, U.S. /ˈrɑbən/ I. Uses of the personal name.
1. With capital initial. The male forename used allusively and in various proverbial phrases. Now rare.In later use often with reference to Robin Goodfellow (see Robin Goodfellow n.).poor, round robin: see the first element.
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c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. vii. l. 65 I shal fynde hem foode..Saue Iakke þe Iugelour..And robyn [c1390 Vernon Robert] þe ribaudour.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1174 From haselwode þere ioly Robyn pleyde Shal come al þat þat þow abydest here.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 6337 Now am I Robert now Robyn Now frere menour now Iacobyn.
a1500 (?a1400) Tale King Edward & Shepherd (Cambr.) (1930) l. 124 (MED) My name..is Ioly Robyn.
1532 Romaunt Rose in Wks. G. Chaucer f. clxviiv/1 He, that whilome was so gaye And of the daunce Joly Robyn [Fr. li biaus Robins] Was tho become a Jacobyn.
a1555 H. Latimer Let. 15 July in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1563) 1349/2 Now that would I see, quod long Roben, ut dicitur vulgariter.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. E1, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) Some Robin the diuell, or I wot not what spirit of the ayre.
1603 Philotus cxxxvi. sig. E4 Now grace and honour on that face, Quod Robein to the Haggies.
a1635 R. Corbet Iter Boreale in Certain Elegant Poems (1647) 11 'Tis Robin or some Spirit walkes about, Strike him, quoth he, and it will turne to aire.
1783 F. G. Waldron Contin. B. Jonson's Sad Shepherd v. 98 What fay-like elf are ye, that mock and flout! Were ye Puck-hairy late?.. Leave scorning, Robin! nor perplex me mair.
1844 H. Smith Arthur Arundel II. vi. 174 Ho Robin! Jolly Robin! Rise and drive your team to plough.
1903 W. F. Rose in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 136/2 [Somerset] She's so dunch—she don't know Robin from Richard as a body may say.
II. In the names of birds.
2.
a. A small songbird of Eurasia and North Africa, Erithacus rubecula, having an orange-red face and breast, which is familiar in gardens in Britain and is associated with much folklore. Later also more fully European robin. Formerly called redbreast. Earlier in robin redbreast (see robin redbreast n. 1), and cf. Robert n.1 1. See note at sense 2b.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Erithacus > erithacus rubecula (robin)
ruddockOE
redbreasta1425
robineta1425
Robertc1430
robin redbreasta1525
robinc1550
Robin ruddock1554
Robin ruck1555
cock robin1710
robin breastie1824
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 31 Robeen and the litil vran var hamely in vyntir.
a1568 A. Scott Poems in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS f. 156v In May..men ȝeid..With Robene Hoid and littill Johne To bring in bowis and birkin bobbynis Now all sic game is fastlingis gone Bot gif it be amangis clovin robbynis.
1616 G. Markham Markhams Method xi. 61 (heading) How to cure all the diseases in singing birdes, as the Nightingale, Lynnet.., Robin, Throstell, and such like with three Medicines onely.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 383 Here are also Ayeries of Hawks and sundry others Birds; as Goshawks,..Robbins, Herons white and beautiful.
1802 W. Wordsworth Redbreast chasing Butterfly 3 The pious bird with the scarlet breast, Our little English Robin.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 37 On the nigh-naked tree the Robin piped Disconsolate.
1897 Auk 14 412 This habit [sc. disgorging fruit stones and large seeds] is possessed by the Red-eyed Vireo, Myrtle Bird, European Robin and larger Pettichaps.
1919 Times 23 Jan. 13/3 There will be many a primrose bank again this spring, without its familiar robin's nest.
1961 O. L. Austin Birds of World 255/1 The Robin of legend and story is a small, plump, friendly bird.
1998 J. Barnes England, England (1999) 120 The Island Breakfast Experience began with the search for a logo... White Cliffs, Beefeaters, red squirrels, and a robin in the snow.
2006 Countryman Dec. 8 Robins are famous for nesting in all kinds of unlikely locations.
b. Any of various other Old World songbirds of the genus Erithacus and of several other genera related to the chats. Usually with distinguishing word. Cf. robin-chat n. at Compounds 2.The robins and chats have traditionally been placed in the thrush family, Turdidae, but have recently been made a subfamily ( Saxicolinae) of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.bush, Cape, Indian, magpie, Natal, scrub robin, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Erithacus
robin1835
1835 C. F. Partington Brit. Cycl. Nat. Hist. I. 530/2 Blue-bird, or Blue-robin... An American genus of small dentirostral birds, allied to the robins and chats of the old continent.
1855 W. S. Dallas in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature III. 303 In the sub~family of the Erythacinæ or Robins, the bill is rather short, slender, tapering,..and depressed at the base.
1932 Discovery July 231/2 No bird calls but the bush-robin with chrome-yellow underparts and silver stars on his slate-blue forehead.
1988 S. Cramp et al. Handbk. Birds Europe, Middle East & N. Afr. V. 616/2 Erithacus rubecula Robin... Forms species-group with Japanese Robin E. akahige..and with Ryukyu Robin E. komadori.
2005 enRoute June 70/1 In the Seychelles..The island's delicate ecosystem is..home to half of the world's endangered magpie robins.
3. Chiefly North American. A large, migratory thrush, Turdus migratorius (family Turdidae), which has brick red underparts and a dark head, widespread and common in North America. Also more fully American robin. Also (with distinguishing word): any of several similar American thrushes.Earlier in robin redbreast (see robin redbreast n. 2a).
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus migratorius (American robin)
red-bird1649
robin redbreast1696
robin1703
redbreast1772
red-breasted thrush1772
red thrush1827
1703 S. Sewall Diary 16 Mar. (1973) I. 483 The Robbins cheerfully utter their Notes this morn.
1750 J. Birket Voy. N. Amer. (1916) 13 They have..a bird like our field fare with a red brest which they call a Robin that sings delightfully.
1808 A. Wilson Amer. Ornithol. I. 37 The Robin is one of our earliest songsters.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish iii. 3 Into the tranquil woods, where blue-birds and robins were building.
1888 G. H. Kingsley in Field 16 June 869/2 In America I shoot robins and find them thrushes.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Nov. 859/3 A lovely little bird hardly as large as an American robin.
1966 Vancouver Province 19 Nov. 1/5 The robin had been sitting in a mountain ash tree in his front yard.
1987 Field Guide Birds N. Amer. (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 2) 330 Rufous-backed Robin. Turdus rufopalliatus... Clay-colored Robin. Turdus grayi.
1992 J. Osborne Cardinal i. 19 Some songbirds occasionally sing from the ground. The American Robin is one of these.
4.
a. Chiefly North American. Any of various unrelated songbirds that resemble the European or American robin, esp. in having reddish or orange colour on the breast or underside. Usually with distinguishing word.blue, golden, ground, Pekin, swamp robin, etc.: see the first element.
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1769 R. Smith Jrnl. 18 May in Tour Four Great Rivers (1906) 41 The lively Note of the Swamp Robin, the Red Bird and other Birds from the earliest Dawn is entertaining.
1794 Philos. Soc. Trans. 4 110 This bird was the chewink, or ground robin.
1855 W. S. Dallas in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature III. 265 One of the commonest species, the Baltimore Oriole,..has received the name of fire-bird... It is also called the Golden Robin.
1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 610/1 Our New England forefathers call him the ‘blue robin’.
1905 Newark (Ohio) Advocate 2 June 4/3 The Japanese nightingale, or Pekin robin, is becoming naturalized in the parks of London.
1955 Sci. News Let. 23 Apr. 271 The towhee is a bird of many aliases. ‘Ground robin’ is a popular name, and justified by his deceptively robin-like appearance.
2004 T. Wheeler Falklands & S. Georgia 62 It's easy to see why the meadowlark, with its bright red breast, is known locally as the ‘robin’ or ‘military starling’.
b. Australian and New Zealand. Any of various small Australasian songbirds constituting the family Petroicidae (or Eopsaltriidae), esp. of the genus Petroica, which are usually dark with red, pink, yellow, or white breasts. Usually with distinguishing word. Cf. robin redbreast n. 2b.Many Australasian robins were formerly placed with the Old World flycatchers, while some were included with the whistlers.New Zealand, rose, yellow robin, etc.: see the first element.
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1773 J. R. Forster Jrnl. 3 May in 'Resolution' Jrnl. (1982) II. 269 We hitherto had taken [the bird] for a variety of the small yellow legged Thrush, commonly called Robin by our Ship's-crew.
1827 Trans. Linn. Soc. 15 242 ‘This bird,’ Mr. Cayley says, ‘is called yellow-robin by the colonists. It is an inhabitant of bushes’.
1860 ‘Little Jacob’ Colonial Pen-Scratchings 89 Robins twittering all about, robins with such vermilion breasts, and such black velvet feathers that one never sees in England.
1893 Trans. & Proc. N.Z. Inst. 1892 25 57 The Black Robin. I have received several more specimens of this bird from the Snares.
1932 A. H. Chisholm Nature Fantasy in Austral. 130 At least twenty species, some of them only dubiously related, grace the ancient name of robin.
1966 R. A. Falla et al. Field Guide Birds N.Z. 204 The remaining population of the Chatham Island Robin..lives in a small area of coastal forest.
1997 Corella 21 1 Many resident species have disappeared from the site. These include..Hooded Robin, Red-capped Robin, Scarlet Robin, Flame Robin, [etc.].
c. Caribbean. Any of various small birds with some red in the plumage, esp. the Jamaican tody, Todus todus, which has a crimson throat. Cf. robin redbreast n. 2c.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Coraciiformes (kingfisher, etc.) > [noun] > family Alcedinidae > unspecified and miscellaneous types
kingfisher1611
tody1773
robin1826
kinghunter1837
robin redbreast1847
malachite kingfisher1903
1826 C. R. Williams Tour Island Jamaica viii. 36 Here are several sorts of humming-birds, and the doctor-bird, or robin, having a green body with a red throat.
1894 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. III 791 Robin, a well-known nickname of the Red-breast,..has been transplanted as well..to Jamaica in the case of the Green Tody.
1960 J. Bond Birds W. Indies 143 Jamaican Tody. Todus todus. Local names: Robin; Robin Redbreast.
1996 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 475/1 Robin, any of a number of varieties of colourful, small, chirping birds, having in common only a marked redness of some parts of the body.
d. Scottish (Shetland). The wren, Troglodytes troglodytes. Cf. robin redbreast n. 2d.From the popular belief that the wren was the robin's wife. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in Shetland in 1968.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Troglodytidae > genus Troglodytes > species troglodytes (wren)
wrenc725
little kingc1450
Our Lady's hena1529
jenny wren1648
regulus1678
tope1813
staga1825
kitty1825
feather-poke1831
robin1837
robin redbreasta1873
jenny1881
St. Kilda wren1884
1837 R. Dunn Ornithologist's Guide Orkney & Shetland 82 Troglodytes Europæus, Cuv. Robin. Wren. Kitty Wren.
1864 Zoologist 22 9095 When a Shetlander talks of the robin he almost invariably means the wren.
1899 A. H. Evans & T. E. Buckley Vertebr. Fauna Shetland Islands 79 Troglodytes parvulus, K. L. Loch. Wren. Shetland.—Robin.
III. Other uses.
5.
a. English regional (northern). A small or inferior codfish, Gadus morhua.
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the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > order Gadiformes (cod) > [noun] > family Gadidae > genus Gadus > gadus morhua (common cod) > small or young
codling1304
morhwell1554
dorse1610
robin1618
skinner1816
sprag1874
tomcod1883
picker1895
1618 in G. Ornsby Select. from Househ. Bks. Naworth Castle (1878) 81 2 robbins, 12 codds,..3 robbins.
1807 C. Waugh Fisherman's Def. 4 (Cumb. Gloss.) The small cod called Robins.
1892 H. A. Macpherson Fauna Lakeland 484 The ‘Robbin’ or ‘Robin’ is a deformed-looking fish, often taken at the end of the winter fishing.
b. Chiefly North American. Any of various small, chiefly marine fishes; esp. a gurnard of the genus Prionotus (= sea-robin n. 1).
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the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Scorpaeniformes (scorpion-fish) > [noun] > family Triglidae (gurnards) > member of family Triglidae (gurnard)
gurnard1314
mop1466
kite-fish1684
trigla1752
pigfish1807
captain1811
sea-robin1814
mailed or armed gurnard1836
robin1853
sclerogenoid1861
grumbler1867
triglid1888
trigloid1888
1853 J. Richardson Let. 24 May in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 290 We caught 19 brim & robbins.
1876 G. B. Goode Catal. Fishes Bermudas 10 The Pilchard.., Shad.., and the Robin (Decapterus punctatus), are used as ‘full~baits’.
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 99 The ‘Sailor's Choice’..bears several other names,..as the ‘Robin’ and ‘Pin-fish’.
1894 Outing 24 263/2 ‘Here's a sea-robin!’... The robin grunted vigorously as I relieved him of the hook.
1896 D. S. Jordan & B. W. Evermann Check-list Fishes & Fish-like Vertebr. N. & Middle Amer. 489 Cephalacanthus volitans..Flying-robin; Mucielago.
1996 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 475/1 Robin, an edible fish about 6 to 8 inches long, with a silvery blue, roundish body..; Prionotus scutulus [sic].
6. Chiefly English regional. Any of several plants commonly found in hedgerows, esp. ones having red or pink flowers, as red campion ( Silene dioica), herb Robert ( Geranium robertianum), etc. Usually with distinguishing word.ragged, red, wake robin: see the first element.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > geranium and allied flowers > allied flowers
herb Roberta1300
stick pile?a1450
culverfootc1450
devil's needlea1500
crane's-bill1548
dove's-foot1548
geranium1548
shepherd's needle1562
bloodroot1578
Gratia Dei1578
sanguine root1578
pigeon's-foot1597
Roman cranesbill1648
robin1694
redshanka1722
musk1728
ragged Robert1734
pigeon-foot1736
rose geranium1773
mountain flowera1787
wood cranesbill1796
peppermint-scented geranium1823
stork's bill1824
wild geranium1840
musk geranium1845
pin grass1847
Robert1847
stinking crane's bill1857
mourning widow1866
pinweed1876
ivy-leaved pelargonium1887
ivy-geranium1894
regal1894
peppermint geranium1922
1694 W. Westmacott Θεολοβοτονολογια 23 Altering the taste with a handful of..Ground Ivy, or Robin leaves.
1858 National Mag. 3 315/1 The campions are..all robins. The rose or red campion is the red robin, the white is the white robin.
1882 H. Friend Gloss. Devonshire Plant Names 47 The Geranium is called Herb Robert, and the Campion Robin.
1893 G. E. Dartnell & E. H. Goddard Gloss. Words Wilts. 121 ‘What is that flower in your hand, Polly?’ ‘That's Robins, ma'am.’
1906 Academy 5 May 425/2 Dewdropt daffodillies, With robin, medled in the thicket grass.
1913 D. H. Lawrence in New Statesman 16 Aug. 595/2 We called the purple primroses ‘robins’, for no reason, unless that they bloomed in winter.
Phrases
P1. Chiefly British regional. Used as the first element in phrases forming the names of plants, as † Robin in the hedge, Robin-run-in-the-hedge and variants: any of several (chiefly creeping) plants; esp. ground-ivy, Glechoma hederacea, and goose-grass or cleavers, Gallium aparine.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > names applied to various climbers
woodbinec875
withbindc1000
bindweed1601
supplejack1696
Robin-run-in-the-hedge1776
1776 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Veg. Great Brit. I. 340 Ground Ivy. Cats-foot. Ale-hoof. Tun-hoof. Robin run in the hedge.
1777 Farmer's Mag. Aug. 266 This plant is in the southern counties called Clivers, in those of the north and west Hairiff, and in some others Robin-i'-th'-hedge, but is the same plant as is known in all by the name of Goose-grass.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. Robbin-rin-the-Hedge, a trailing kind of weed, which runs along hedges, a robbin net.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Robin-ith-hedge, red flowered Campion. Lychnis dioica.
1846 T. Keightley Notes Bucolics & Georgics of Virgil 385 Cleavers, Clivers, Goose~grass. In some places (particularly in Ireland) it is called Robin-run-the-hedge.
1883 C. S. Burne Shropshire Folk-lore xxiii The old Ludlow custom of dining on a leg of pork stuffed with Robin-run-i'-the-hedge.
1918 L. B. Wilder Colour in my Garden xxi. 336 Creeping plants with insistent colonizing proclivities usually receive some such name as Meg-many-feet, Gill-over-the-ground, Robin-run-in-the-Hedge, [etc.].
1990 N. Hill Death grows on You (1992) xv. 200 The sinuous branches of blackberry and late robin-run-the-hedge intertwining with dun-coloured dying grasses.
P2.
Robin-run-rake n. English regional (Lincolnshire) (now rare) †(a) a type of plant (not identified); cf. Phrases 1 (obsolete); (b) a mist rising from the ground in hot weather.Recorded earlier as the name of a horse (see quot. 1840).
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1840 Hull Packet 6 Mar. 3/7 Mr. Thistlewood's ch g Robin-run-Rake [i.e. a horse].]
1866 G. M. Fenn Hollowdell Grange iv. 51 A lovely butterfly..settled nicely in reach upon a robin-run-rake by the hedge-side.
1884 G. S. Streatfeild Lincolnshire & Danes 349 The shimmering vapour that rises from and floats over the ground in hot weather is called, in some parts of Lincolnshire, Robin-run-rake. This is probably a corruption of Robin-run-rig.
P3.
Robin Roundcap n. English regional (Yorkshire) (the name of) a usually helpful sprite or goblin.
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1884 Hull Q. Jan. 6/2 Whence came the voice? It was that of a well-known folk-lore character, Robin Round-Cap.
1890 J. Nicholson Folk-lore E. Yorks. 80 The Hob Thrust, or Robin Round Cap, is a good natured fellow who assists servant maids by doing their work in the early morning.
1901 Folk-lore 12 170 The Scotch Brownie and the Yorkshire Robin-Round-Cap have at least one kinsman in the parts of Lindsey.
1948 L. Spence Minor Trad. Brit. Mythol. (1979) vi. 90 A similar spirit known as Robin Roundcap dwelt in the Halliwell district of Yorkshire.
Compounds
C1. General attributive with the sense ‘of or belonging to a robin’, as robin food, robin song, etc.
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1846 Fairy Birds from Fancy Islet iv. 280 Robinetta also struck up the softest robin song,—a song that came from Fancy Islet in her crystal wings.
1855 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 713/1 Here was..the robin-house Aleck had built for her tamed birds.
1881 S. Lanier in Scribner's Monthly July 453 Nothing but robin-songs heard under heaven.
1919 Auk 36 216 No unusual abundance or scarcity of Robin food has been revealed by such observations as I have been able to make.
1951 W. H. Auden Nones (1952) 15 A robin with no Christian name ran through The Robin-Anthem which was all it knew.
1983 T. Hughes River 96 Robin song bronze-touching the stillness Over posthumous nettles.
1997 New Scientist 31 May 10/2 They removed robin eggs and put them into the nests of tomtits.
C2. Used attributively or appositively in names of birds. See also robin redbreast n., Robin ruddock n.† robin breastie n. Scottish Obsolete the (European) robin, Erithacus rubecula; = sense 2a.
robin accentor n. a small Himalayan songbird, Prunella rubeculoides (family Prunellidae), which has a greyish head and reddish breast.
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1854 Proc. Zool. Soc. 22 118 The Robin Accentor.
1890 E. W. Oates Fauna Brit. India: Birds II. 169 Tharrhaleus rubeculoides, the Robin Accentor.
1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard iii. 202 The bill is slim in a pale-gray head, and it has a rufous breast and a white belly. This is the robin accentor (Prunella).
robin breast n. North American = robin snipe n. (a).
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1888 G. Trumbull Names & Portraits Birds 179 At Manasquan, N.J., [the knot is called]robin-breast.
1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 231 Knot... Other Names..Robin-breast; Beach Robin; Red-breast.
1955 Amer. Speech 30 181 The knot..is also known simply as robin on Long Island, robin breast (N.J.), beach robin (N.Y., N.C.), [etc.].
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Erithacus > erithacus rubecula (robin)
ruddockOE
redbreasta1425
robineta1425
Robertc1430
robin redbreasta1525
robinc1550
Robin ruddock1554
Robin ruck1555
cock robin1710
robin breastie1824
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 412 The following poem..treats of the Robbin Breastie, and the Willie Wagtail, and has a tolerable moral... The tane o' them was the Robbin Breestie.
robin-chat n. †(a) an Asian flycatcher, Ficedula hyperythra (obsolete); (b) any of several chiefly African chats of or related to the genus Cossypha (family Muscicapidae), usually having a dark grey back and orange-red underparts; frequently with distinguishing word.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Cossypha (robin-chat)
piet-my-vrou1835
Cape robin1867
Natal robin1901
robin-chat1923
1874 Jrnl. Ceylon Branch Royal Asiatic Soc. 5 i. 68 The robin-chat was chirping his goodnight in an orange tree hard by.
1885 H. Lansdell Russ. Central Asia II. (App. A) 521 (table) Irania albigula, n. (Bessonornis gutturalis, Guer.?) White-throated Robin Chat.
1923 A. K. Haagner & R. H. Ivy Sketches S. Afr. Bird-life (rev. ed.) 170 The commonest member of the Robin-Chats is the ‘Cape’ species (Cossypha caffra) called the Cape Robin or Jan Fredric.
2005 Trav. Afr. Autumn 117/2 The orange-breasted bush-shrike and the white-headed robin-chat were spotted by scientists for the first time since 1957.
robin dipper n. North American the bufflehead (duck), Bucephala albeola.
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1888 G. Trumbull Names & Portraits Birds 82 At Bath, Me., and North Scituate, Mass., [the bufflehead is called]robin-dipper.
1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 140 Buffle-Head... Other Names..Robin Dipper, [etc.].
1982 R. Elman Hunter's Field Guide 211 Bufflehead... Common & Regional Names..robin dipper, Scotch dipper, [etc.].
robin sandpiper n. North American = robin snipe n. (a).
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1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 632 Tringa,..Robin Sandpiper. Bill about as long as, or rather longer than, the head.
1911 Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 23–4 261 Tringa canutus Linn. Knot; Robin sandpiper. Common, visiting even the islands in July each year.
robin snipe n. North American any of various shorebirds; esp.: (a) the knot, Calidris canutus, esp. in its red-breasted breeding plumage; (b) a dowitcher (genus Limnodromus).
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1803 S. Mitchill Let. 5 July in Med. Repository (1804) 2nd Hexade 2 123/1 Robin snipe.
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 256 Robin-snipe... Bill equalling or rather exceeding the head.
1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 229 Dowitcher... Other Names.—Robin Snipe; Sea Pigeon, [etc.].
1955 Amer. Speech 30 181 The knot is robin snipe generally on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
2004 Washington Post (Nexis) 29 Jan. t12 More sculptures—of ptarmigan grouse, robin snipe and a pond..with sitting birds—sit atop an old desk.
C3. In the names of plants and associated structures. Cf. sense 6.
a. attributive.† robin net n. Obsolete rare a trailing plant, perhaps goosegrass, Galium aparine; cf. Robin-run-in-the-hedge at Phrases 1.† robin-wheat n. North American Obsolete = robin's rye n. at Compounds 3b.
robin-flower n. English regional (now rare) any of several hedgerow plants having red or pink flowers; esp. red campion, Silene dioica; cf. sense 6.
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1869 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip June 134/1 Although usually written Herb Robert, the word Robin occurs in more than one local name of the plant; in the eastern counties it is ‘Red Robin’; one of its Buckinghamshire names is ‘Ragged Robin’; and in Devonshire it is ‘Robin-flower’.
1884 H. Friend Flowers & Flower-lore. II. 478 In Devonshire you will hear of it [sc. campion] under such titles as Robin's-eye, Little Robin, Poor Robin, Robin-flower, and other similar names.
1901 M. P. M. Home Stray Leaves from Border Garden 272 Cranesbill... Death-come-quickly, Red Robin, Robin-flower.
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1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. Robbin-rin-the-Hedge, a trailing kind of weed, which runs along hedges, a robbin net.
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the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > other mosses
golden maidenhair1578
polytrichon1578
bryon1597
maidenhair moss1597
mountain coralline1598
chalice-moss1610
purple bottle1650
water moss1663
fern-moss1698
hypnum1753
Mnium1754
rock tripe1763
feather-moss1776
scaly water-moss1796
screw moss1804
hog-bed1816
fringe-moss1818
caribou moss1831
apple moss1841
bristle-moss1844
scale-moss1846
anophyte1850
robin's rye1854
wall moss1855
fork-moss1860
thread-moss1864
lattice moss1868
robin-wheat1886
1886 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 368 The birds are not the only harvesters of the pretty moss known as robin-wheat.
1898 F. D. Bergen Glimpses at Plant World 52 The little tapering pouches, that look enough like grain-kernels to have given rise to the name ‘robin-wheat’, are really spore-cases.
b. Compounds with robin’s.† robin's eyes n. (also robin's eye) Obsolete any of several plants, esp. herb Robert, Geranium robertianum.Quot. 1867 perhaps represents a typographical error for robin's rye, polytrichum.
robin's cushion n. now rare = robin's pincushion n.
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the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > gall or abnormal growth > on particular plants
oak-apple1440
bedeguar1578
sponge1608
oak-berry1626
oak nut1626
Aleppo gall1698
grape-gall1753
rose gall1753
oak galla1774
ear cockle1777
honeysuckle apple1818
sage-apple1832
robin's pincushion1835
oak spangle1836
robin's cushion1837
oak-wart1840
spangle1842
shick-shack1847
spangle-gall1864
tomato gall1869
Robin redbreast's cushion1878
knopper1879
trumpet-gall1879
spongiole1884
knot-gall1894
1837 Conversat. Nature & Art xvi. 362 I, too, have found something—such a pretty robin's cushion.
1862 H. Marryat One Year in Sweden II. 286 A stunted wild-rose, now covered with those feathery red excrescences..called in England ‘robin's-cushions’.
1913 R. Lulham Introd. Zool. xxvii. 437 The Bedeguar Gall, or ‘Robin's Cushion’ (formed by Rhodites rosae), is another common gall.
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1867 O. P. Brown Compl. Herbalist (rev. ed.) 344 I have a specific treatment, however..; the basis of which is found in rheumatism root, large flowering spurge, fig wort, robin's eye, and two foreign plants.
1883 W. H. Cope Gloss. Hampshire Words 75 Robin's-eyes, the flowers of the milkwort (Polygalum Vulgare). Applied also to others, as those of the forget-me-not.
1884 H. Friend Flowers & Flower-lore. II. 428 The little English Geraniums, Herb Robert and others, are generally known as Bird's-eyes or Robin's eyes.
robin's flower n. English regional (rare) = robin-flower n. at Compounds 3a.
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1880 T. R. A. Briggs Flora of Plymouth 47 L[ychnis] diurna... Red Campion, the ‘Robin's Flower’.
1932 R. Fisher Eng. Names Commonest Wild Flowers I. 186 Robin (Robin's) Flower—Red Campion, Herb Robert.
robin's pincushion n. a reddish moss-like gall occurring on the stems of rose bushes, formed in response to the developing larvae of a gall wasp, Diplolepis rosae; also called bedeguar; cf. robin's cushion n.
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the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > gall or abnormal growth > on particular plants
oak-apple1440
bedeguar1578
sponge1608
oak-berry1626
oak nut1626
Aleppo gall1698
grape-gall1753
rose gall1753
oak galla1774
ear cockle1777
honeysuckle apple1818
sage-apple1832
robin's pincushion1835
oak spangle1836
robin's cushion1837
oak-wart1840
spangle1842
shick-shack1847
spangle-gall1864
tomato gall1869
Robin redbreast's cushion1878
knopper1879
trumpet-gall1879
spongiole1884
knot-gall1894
1835 J. Curtis Brit. Entomol. III. Pl. 552 (caption) Some of these Insects I breed in vast quantities from the beautiful moss-like balls attached to the branches of the Dog-rose, called Bedeguar, and known in some parts of England by the name of ‘Robin's Pincushions’.
1927 Daily Express 20 Apr. 8/5 Rose-galls are of two distinct kinds, the most beautiful being the well-known bedeguar or robin's pincushion, which consists of a colony of about fifty gall-wasps.
1993 M. Chinery Insects Brit. & N. Europe 267 Diplolepis rosae, the insect responsible for the familiar robin's pincushion or bedeguar galls on roses.., has no alternation of generations.
robin's plantain n. North American any of several kinds of fleabane (genus Erigeron); esp. E. pulchellus, which has white to mauve daisy-like flowers and is found in southern and eastern areas of the United States.
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1736 in Documents Colonial & Post-revol. Hist. New Jersey (1894) XI. 446 To Drink give a Decoction of Devil's bitt or Robbins Plantain.
1894 Primary Educat. Sept. 239/1 One small girl walked around with a bit of robin's plantain in her wee hand and upon being asked if it was a daisy, replied, ‘No, but it belongs to the daisy family.’
1921 Amer. Botanist 27 144 Here again are masses of light blue waving in the gentle breeze. This is no other than robin's plantain (Erigeron bellidifolius) growing in multitudes.
2006 L. M. Steiner Landscaping with Native Plants Michigan ii. 117/1 Erigeron puchellus (Robin's plantain) is native to rich, moist-to-wet woodlands mainly in the southern half of the Lower Peninsular.
robin's rye n. chiefly North American (now rare) a moss of the genus Polytrichum (Polytrichum n.), having brown capsules which resemble cereal grains; cf. robin-wheat n. at Compounds 3a.
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the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > other mosses
golden maidenhair1578
polytrichon1578
bryon1597
maidenhair moss1597
mountain coralline1598
chalice-moss1610
purple bottle1650
water moss1663
fern-moss1698
hypnum1753
Mnium1754
rock tripe1763
feather-moss1776
scaly water-moss1796
screw moss1804
hog-bed1816
fringe-moss1818
caribou moss1831
apple moss1841
bristle-moss1844
scale-moss1846
anophyte1850
robin's rye1854
wall moss1855
fork-moss1860
thread-moss1864
lattice moss1868
robin-wheat1886
1854 Amer. Jrnl. Med. Sci. Jan. 267 Second species [of Polytrichum], Commune (Linn.), differs from the foregoing by being taller, and having serrate leaves... Common name, Hair-cap Moss, and Robbin's Rye.
1905 O. F. Cook & W. T. Swingle Evol. Cellular Structures 55 Polytrichum juniperinum... Haircap-moss; robin's rye. Native moss, 4–7 inches in height growing along margins of dry woods.
robin's wheat n. North American (now rare) = robin's rye n.; cf. robin-wheat n. at Compounds 3a.
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1884 M. A. Duane Recoll. Old Fashioned Lady 33 One kind of moss with little white caps on straight stalks, she said was called ‘Robin's wheat’.
1915 Nature-Stud. Rev. May 231 P[olytrichum] commune, the Common Hair-cap, often called Bird Wheat or Robin's Wheat, is found everywhere in open fields among the grass and in open woods.
C4.
a.
Robin Dinner n. British (now historical) a free Christmas dinner provided for destitute children by means of charitable subscription.
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the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > main meal or dinner
mealeOE
dinnerc1325
dinea1425
Christmas dinner1581
Sunday dinner1602
corporation dinner1732
Russian dinner1805
boiled dinner1823
pickup1848
Robin Dinner1877
course-dinner1895
shore dinner1895
din-din1905
gala dinner1934
TV dinner1952
working dinner1956
steak dinnera1964
1876 Hand & Heart 8 Dec. Suppl. 24/3 We promise to give a special report of the interesting proceedings at ‘The Bird Dinner, or Dinners’, after it has, or they have, been given and paid for.]
1877 Hand & Heart 23 Nov. Suppl. 8/2 Robin succeeded so well last year..that his Christmas thoughts are becoming very expansive, and he now wants to establish ‘A Robin Dinner’ for waifs and strays everywhere.
1892 Daily News 21 Jan. 3/1 A ‘Robin’ dinner took place last night at the headquarters of the Camberwell Mission.
1905 L. H. Friswell In Sixties & Seventies (1906) xv. 178 Thus the Censor Dinners..were the origin of Robin Dinners, and all the other Dinners..that are given to poor children at Christmas time to this day.
2006 Lincs. Echo (Nexis) 26 Jan. Memories of the old Robin Dinner—which was once a highlight of the year for many Lincoln children—have been revived.
robin huss n. English regional (southern) the lesser spotted dogfish or rough hound, Scyliorhinus canicula.
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the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Pleurotremata > [noun] > family Scyliorhinidae > member of genus Scyliorhinus (rock-fish)
dogfishc1450
rough hound1602
morgya1667
robin huss1836
rock salmon1928
rockfish1934
rock eel1969
rock1977
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 367 (heading) The Small-spotted Dog-fish. Morgay, Scotland.—Robin Huss, Sussex coast.
1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland II. 310 Scyllium canicula... Spotted, small-spotted, and lesser-spotted dog-fish:..Robin huss, Sussex.
1965 S. Norton-Bracy in Newnes Compl. Guide Sea Angling 117/2 The lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula)..is also known by many names, probably the best known of them being robin huss... Many anglers seem to think it should have been ‘robbing’ huss, due to its habit of nipping off the bait.
robin-red n. and adj. (a) n. an orange-red colour resembling that of a robin's breast; (b) adj. of this shade or colour.
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1892 Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier 26 Nov. 4/8 ‘Robin red’ is a new shade in tailor cloth.
1896 Daily News 17 Oct. 6/5 A robin-red velvet waistcoat.
1984 R. M. Pyle Audubon Soc. Handbk. for Butterfly Watchers xvii. 216 Cecropia is colored in shades of russet and robin-red.
2000 Wisconsin (Madison) State Jrnl. 31 Aug. The moth is quite impressive... Its base color is gray, but it has a robin-red body.
robin snow n. U.S. a light fall of snow, esp. one occurring in late spring.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [noun] > a fall of snow > at specific season
sugar snow1826
robin snow1853
1853 H. D. Thoreau Jrnl. 11–12 Jan. (1997) V. 440 He says that the most snow we have had this winter (it has not been more than 1 inch deep) has been only a ‘robin snow’ as it is called, i.e. a snow which does not drive off the robins.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Early Spring in Massachusetts (1881) 49 The slight robin snow of yesterday is already mostly dissipated.
1947 M. Sandoz Tom-walker i. vii. 111 After a robin snow in May, George Shefton went to Denver.
1982 A. Davis-Gardner Felice xxx. 272 There were no robin snows, only occasional thorough rains that made buds and shoots leap forward.
b. Compounds with robin’s.
robin's egg adj. and n. originally U.S. = robin's-egg blue n. and adj.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > [adjective] > greenish blue
turquoise1573
pavonaceous1688
aquamarine1846
verditer1857
robin's egg1871
peacock1873
starch blue1875
bird's-egg blue1878
Alice blue1905
kingfisher1930
teal blue1949
1871 Our Young Folks Apr. 229 She saw her robin's-egg sash and gloves.
1871 W. Whitman in N.Y. Evening Post 7 Sept. 2/5 Gladdening the sun and sky—enhued in cheerfulest hues, Bronze, lilac, robin's egg, marine and crimson.
1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) v. 91 Cloud battalions retreating, and stragglers streaked with red—geranium, salmon, vermilion, magenta. Between them, their complements of robin's egg, turquoise, and faint bottle green.
1991 G. Bear & S. M. Stirling in L. Niven et al. Man-Kzin Wars IV 263 The sky was gorgeous robin's egg at the horizon and lapis overhead.
robin's-egg blue n. and adj. originally U.S. (a) n. a light greenish-blue colour resembling that of an American robin's egg; (b) adj. of this shade or colour.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > [noun] > greenish blue
peacock colour1598
verditer1819
verdigris blue1832
robin's-egg blue1844
aquamarine1846
turquoise1853
verditer blue1857
bird's-egg blue1858
Alice1872
Nile blue1873
starch blue1875
cyan-blue1879
peacock1881
peacock blue1881
bird's egg1885
Gobelin blue1886
cyan1889
Nile1895
kingfisher1901
Alice blue1905
teal1923
aqua1936
teal blue1949
1844 C. T. Jackson Final Rep. Geol. & Minerol. New Hampsh. 230 The molybdic acid..had the property of striking a fine robin's egg blue, by contact with metallic zinc.
1872 Our Young Folks Nov. 696 Nothing is to be seen in the hazy distance but the robin's-egg blue water.
1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xi. 118 I gave up all thoughts of buying a Cadillac and settled for the robin's-egg blue Dodge.
2002 E. A. Gargan River's Tale vi. 177 The French left behind..provincial colonial homes in pastels of lemon, robin's egg blue or ivory.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† robinn.2
Obsolete.
= robing n. 1b.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > loose clothing > robe or gown > parts of
hemc1275
lapc1300
skirtc1330
fentc1430
amyta1450
upper-bodying1502
gorea1529
fox-fur1598
robing1727
lappet1734
robin1750
sack1775
clavus1842
1750 Love at First Sight 52 She will be dress'd in her Primrose-coloured Gown, with embroidered Robins.
1777 F. Burney Let. 7 Apr. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1990) II. 239 Her Green and Grey [gown],..trimed with Gause, white Ribbons, Gause Apron, Cuffs, Robin(g)s, etc.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France I. 306 With heavy lace robbins ending at the elbow.
1798 S. Rowson Reuben & Rachel (1799) II. viii. 99 A grey tabby night-gown, with black cuffs and robins.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† robinn.3
Obsolete.
A package used for spices or other dry goods imported from South Asia; a unit of weight, of varying value, used for such goods.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > [noun] > dry measure > specific dry measure units > pack, bundle, or bunch as unit
pack1416
balec1503
hand1726
robin1766
1766 R. Stevens Compl. Guide East-India Trade 84 Robins of Pepper and Cardemums.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Robbin, a package in which pepper and other dry goods are sometimes imported from Ceylon. The robbin of rice in Malabar weighs about 84 lbs.
1880 W. Whiteley Diary & Almanack 82 Robin of coffee = 1 to 1½ cwt.
1887 Daily News 6 Oct. 2/8 Of 230 cases 240 bags and robins [of] Cochin ginger.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
robinn.4
/ˈrəʊbɪn/, U.S. /ˈroʊbən/ Chemistry.
A toxic polypeptide with emetic and purgative properties present in the bark and other parts of the false acacia, Robinia pseudacacia.
ΚΠ
1892 Ann. Universal Med. Sci. 4 M-6 P. Ehrlich gives the results of experimental work with abrin, ricin, and robin.
1916 J. E. Lane-Claypon Milk vi. 120 Ehrlich found that when a mother was rendered immune to abrin, ricin, robin or tetanus, this immunity was transferred to her young by means of suckling.
1977 W. H. Lewis & M. P. F. Elvin-Lewis Med. Bot. 45/1 Robinia pseudo-acacia (black locust)... A highly poisonous phytotoxin, robin, and a glycoside, robitin, found in the inner bark, young leaves, and seeds, are responsible for human poisoning.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1400
n.21750
n.31766
n.41892