nightingale

noun

night·in·gale ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl How to pronounce nightingale (audio)

-tiŋ-

: an Old World thrush (Luscinia megarhynchos synonym Erithacus megarhynchos) noted for the sweet usually nocturnal song of the male

also : any of various other birds noted for their sweet song or for singing at night

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Starting in May, 1924, the BBC played a nightingale’s song every spring for almost twenty years.

Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022 For example, Ludwig van Beethoven’s 6th Symphony simulates a cuckoo with a clarinet, a nightingale with a flute, and a quail with an oboe.

Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2022 His nightingale vocals set a beautiful tone for the night.

Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 14 May 2022 The constant intermingling of the BBC’s journalists and the country’s political class means that bust-ups are as predictable as the nightingale in spring.

Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022 If Elvis Presley was the lovable dodo, Roy Orbison was a nightingale; if Jerry Lee Lewis was the virtuoso magpie, Johnny Cash was—well, a kind of crow, a spectral oddity with dubious pipes.

Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2021 Before this study, scientists only knew that humans and nightingale thrushes follow categorical rhythms, reports Jason Bittel for National Geographic.

Rasha Aridi, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2021 Rothenberg’s nightingale investigations lead him into extended conversations and collaborations with both scientists and musicians, and into recurring after-hours duets with the nightingales of Berlin’s Treptower Park.

Michelle Nijhuis, The New York Review of Books, 20 Aug. 2020 The nightingale gives its lifeblood to create a perfect red rose.

Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2020 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, variant (with intrusive n) of nyhtegale, nyghtgale, going back to Old English nehtægale, nihtegale, going back to West Germanic *nahti-galōn, from *nahti- night entry 1 + -galōn, noun derivative of Germanic *galan- "to sing," whence Old English galan "to sing, call, sing enchantments," Old High German, "to sing enchantments, conjure," Old Norse gala "to crow, chant, sing," perhaps of onomatopoeic origin

Note: Germanic *galan- has been compared with Gothic goljan "to greet," Old Norse gæla "to comfort, soothe, appease," allegedly from a causative derivative *gōljan- from underlying *gol-. Proposed Indo-European comparisons (as Russian dialect galit' "to smile," galit'sja "to mock, jeer," Armenian gełgełem "sing beautifully, quiver, vibrate") are tenuous. See also etymology at yell entry 1.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

单词	nightingale
释义	nightingale noun night·in·gale ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl -tiŋ- : an Old World thrush (Luscinia megarhynchos synonym Erithacus megarhynchos) noted for the sweet usually nocturnal song of the male also : any of various other birds noted for their sweet song or for singing at night Illustration of nightingale Example Sentences Recent Examples on the Web Starting in May, 1924, the BBC played a nightingale’s song every spring for almost twenty years. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022 For example, Ludwig van Beethoven’s 6th Symphony simulates a cuckoo with a clarinet, a nightingale with a flute, and a quail with an oboe. Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2022 His nightingale vocals set a beautiful tone for the night. Matt Wake \| Mwake@al.com, al, 14 May 2022 The constant intermingling of the BBC’s journalists and the country’s political class means that bust-ups are as predictable as the nightingale in spring. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022 If Elvis Presley was the lovable dodo, Roy Orbison was a nightingale; if Jerry Lee Lewis was the virtuoso magpie, Johnny Cash was—well, a kind of crow, a spectral oddity with dubious pipes. Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2021 Before this study, scientists only knew that humans and nightingale thrushes follow categorical rhythms, reports Jason Bittel for National Geographic. Rasha Aridi, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2021 Rothenberg’s nightingale investigations lead him into extended conversations and collaborations with both scientists and musicians, and into recurring after-hours duets with the nightingales of Berlin’s Treptower Park. Michelle Nijhuis, The New York Review of Books, 20 Aug. 2020 The nightingale gives its lifeblood to create a perfect red rose. Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2020 See More Word History Etymology Middle English, variant (with intrusive n) of nyhtegale, nyghtgale, going back to Old English nehtægale, nihtegale, going back to West Germanic nahti-galōn, from nahti- night entry 1 + -galōn, noun derivative of Germanic galan- "to sing," whence Old English galan* "to sing, call, sing enchantments," Old High German, "to sing enchantments, conjure," Old Norse gala "to crow, chant, sing," perhaps of onomatopoeic origin Note: Germanic galan- has been compared with Gothic goljan* "to greet," Old Norse gæla "to comfort, soothe, appease," allegedly from a causative derivative gōljan- from underlying gol-. Proposed Indo-European comparisons (as Russian dialect galit' "to smile," galit'sja "to mock, jeer," Armenian gełgełem "sing beautifully, quiver, vibrate") are tenuous. See also etymology at yell entry 1. First Known Use 13th century, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition nightingale noun night·in·gale ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl : a reddish brown European bird noted for the sweet song of the male usually heard at night Biographical Definition Nightingale biographical name Night·in·gale ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl -tiŋ- Florence 1820–1910 English nurse and philanthropist
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nightingale

noun

Illustration of nightingale

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

noun

Biographical Definition

biographical name