widowbirdn.

Brit.

/ˈwɪdəʊbəːd/, U.S.

/ˈwɪdoʊˌbərd/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: widow n., bird n.

Etymology: < widow n. + bird n. In sense 2 after scientific Latin Vidua, genus name ( Brisson Ornithologia (1760) III.120; specific use of post-classical Latin vidua : see widow n.) and French veuve, lit. ‘widow’ (1760 in the same source, denoting the bird), so called on account of the black plumage of the males, which are also distinguished by a very long train of tail feathers during the breeding season.With quot. 1747 at sense 2 compare Portuguese viúva African bird of the genus Vidua (also used to denote other birds with black plumage, a black cap, or long tail feathers), transferred use of viúva widow (see widow n.).

†1. poetic. A female bird that has lost its mate. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) ii. 266 The Widow-Bird Wanders in lonesome Shade, forgets her Food, Forgets her Life.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Posthumous Poems (1824) 217 A widow bird sate mourning for her love Upon a wintry bough.

2. Any of various African finch-like birds of the genera Vidua (family Viduidae) and Euplectes (family Ploceidae), the males of which typically develop highly elongated black tail feathers and black plumage with patches of red, white, or yellow during the breeding season. Frequently with distinguishing word. Widowbirds of the genus Vidua are also called whydah. Cf. whydah n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > family Ploceidae > [noun] > subfamily Viduinae (whydah)

widow1747

widowbird1765

whydah1781

widowfinch1831

mourning widow1869

1747 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds II. 86 The Red-Breasted Long-Tailed Finch..from Angola in Africa... A Gentleman, who lately arrived from Lisbon, tells me the Portuguese call this Bird the Widow, from its Colour, and long Train.]

1765 Catal. Birds, Insects exhibiting at Spring-Gardens (new ed.) 10 The Widow Bird, dug out from under the Ruins of Lisbon, and preserved alive 6 Months in London.

1772 D. Barrington in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 62 283 (note) These long feathers would be very inconvenient to the hen during incubation; and they are likewise confined to the cock widow-bird.

1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 179 Whidah B[unting]... This is pretty common at Angola, and other parts of Africa; and is called la Veuve, or Widow Bird, from the colour.

1807 C. A. Dorset Peacock at Home 9 The Widow-bird came, though she still wore her weeds.

1869–73 T. R. Jones tr. A. E. Brehm Cassell's Bk. Birds I. 180 The Paradise Widow Bird (Vidua paradisea)..found principally in the thinly-wooded forests of Africa.

1896 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. IV 1030 The females of all the Widow-birds differ greatly in appearance from the males, and are generally clothed in a plumage of mottled brown.

1902 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 589/2 An occasional widow-bird with its ridiculous flight.

1952 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 249/1 The widow-birds and the little waxbills rose in frightened clouds.

1984 Guardian 22 Nov. 13/3 The African straw-tailed widow bird..lays its eggs in the nests of other species.

2008 R. E. Ricklefs Econ. of Nature (ed. 6) viii. 176 (caption) The tail of the male long-tailed widowbird (Euplectes progne) is a handicap in flight, but is attractive to females.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	widowbird
释义	widowbirdn. Brit. /ˈwɪdəʊbəːd/, U.S. /ˈwɪdoʊˌbərd/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: widow n., bird n. Etymology: < widow n. + bird n. In sense 2 after scientific Latin Vidua, genus name ( Brisson Ornithologia (1760) III.120; specific use of post-classical Latin vidua : see widow n.) and French veuve, lit. ‘widow’ (1760 in the same source, denoting the bird), so called on account of the black plumage of the males, which are also distinguished by a very long train of tail feathers during the breeding season.With quot. 1747 at sense 2 compare Portuguese viúva African bird of the genus Vidua (also used to denote other birds with black plumage, a black cap, or long tail feathers), transferred use of viúva widow (see widow n.). †1. poetic. A female bird that has lost its mate. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) ii. 266 The Widow-Bird Wanders in lonesome Shade, forgets her Food, Forgets her Life. a1822 P. B. Shelley Posthumous Poems (1824) 217 A widow bird sate mourning for her love Upon a wintry bough. 2. Any of various African finch-like birds of the genera Vidua (family Viduidae) and Euplectes (family Ploceidae), the males of which typically develop highly elongated black tail feathers and black plumage with patches of red, white, or yellow during the breeding season. Frequently with distinguishing word. Widowbirds of the genus Vidua are also called whydah. Cf. whydah n. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > family Ploceidae > [noun] > subfamily Viduinae (whydah) widow1747 widowbird1765 whydah1781 widowfinch1831 mourning widow1869 1747 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds II. 86 The Red-Breasted Long-Tailed Finch..from Angola in Africa... A Gentleman, who lately arrived from Lisbon, tells me the Portuguese call this Bird the Widow, from its Colour, and long Train.] 1765 Catal. Birds, Insects exhibiting at Spring-Gardens (new ed.) 10 The Widow Bird, dug out from under the Ruins of Lisbon, and preserved alive 6 Months in London. 1772 D. Barrington in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 62 283 (note) These long feathers would be very inconvenient to the hen during incubation; and they are likewise confined to the cock widow-bird. 1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 179 Whidah B[unting]... This is pretty common at Angola, and other parts of Africa; and is called la Veuve, or Widow Bird, from the colour. 1807 C. A. Dorset Peacock at Home 9 The Widow-bird came, though she still wore her weeds. 1869–73 T. R. Jones tr. A. E. Brehm Cassell's Bk. Birds I. 180 The Paradise Widow Bird (Vidua paradisea)..found principally in the thinly-wooded forests of Africa. 1896 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. IV 1030 The females of all the Widow-birds differ greatly in appearance from the males, and are generally clothed in a plumage of mottled brown. 1902 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 589/2 An occasional widow-bird with its ridiculous flight. 1952 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 249/1 The widow-birds and the little waxbills rose in frightened clouds. 1984 Guardian 22 Nov. 13/3 The African straw-tailed widow bird..lays its eggs in the nests of other species. 2008 R. E. Ricklefs Econ. of Nature (ed. 6) viii. 176 (caption) The tail of the male long-tailed widowbird (Euplectes progne) is a handicap in flight, but is attractive to females. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.1709
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