Definition of robin in English:
robin
1A small Old World thrush related to the chats, typically having a brown back with red on the breast or other colourful markings.
Erithacus and other genera, family Turdidae: numerous species, e.g. the familiar European robin or redbreast (E. rubecula), which has an orange-red face and breast
- I'm told catnip keeps birds away from strawberries, and having lost most of mine to robins this year I'm going to try it.
- As dawn breaks on a misty Welsh morning, the earliest birds to break into song are likely to include European robins, followed by blackbirds and song thrushes.
- It worked, but only up to a point, for this year's bumper crop has been almost entirely eaten by a family of robins.
- In their study, the researchers compared two species of night-migratory songbirds - garden warblers and European robins - with two non-migratory songbirds - zebra finches and canaries.
- Migrating from northern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula's cork forests are blackcaps, finches, robins, and song thrushes.
2Any of a number of birds that resemble the European robin, especially in having a red breast.
a large New World thrush (genus Turdus, family Turdidae), in particular the American robin (T. migratorius).
a small Australasian songbird related to the flycatchers (family Eopsaltridae, in particular genus Petroica).
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Old French, pet form of the given name Robert.
People seem to like giving birds names (see pie and parrot). Just as we might call a parrot Polly, so the bird known as a redbreast, from its distinctive colouring was called ‘Robin Redbreast’. The nickname gradually ousted the original part of the name, so that today robin is the normal term.
Rhymes
Definition of robin in US English:
robin
1A large New World thrush that typically has a reddish breast.
genus Turdus, subfamily Turdinae, family Muscicapidae, in particular the American robin (T. migratorius)
- Hester and Fanny have filled our old bird feeder and have had so much fun watching the robins and the cardinals come and eat the seeds that they put inside.
- The beloved American robin, not the annoying, raucous crow, may be the more potent source for West Nile virus, according to new research.
- While we don't have tall trees, our neighbors do, and the firs and oaks that surround our property drop acorns and provide homes for jays, woodpeckers, robins and sparrows.
- The thrushes, a family that includes the American robin and the Eastern bluebird, are known for their vocal skill.
- Mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus prefer the blood of certain birds to others - in particular the red-breasted American robin, scientists say.
2Any of a number of other birds that resemble the American robin, especially in having a red breast, in particular a small Old World thrush related to the chats, typically having a brown back with red on the breast or other colorful markings.
Erithacus and other genera, subfamily Turdinae, family Muscicapidae: numerous species, in particular the European robin (E. rubecula)
- It worked, but only up to a point, for this year's bumper crop has been almost entirely eaten by a family of robins.
- Migrating from northern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula's cork forests are blackcaps, finches, robins, and song thrushes.
- In their study, the researchers compared two species of night-migratory songbirds - garden warblers and European robins - with two non-migratory songbirds - zebra finches and canaries.
- I'm told catnip keeps birds away from strawberries, and having lost most of mine to robins this year I'm going to try it.
- As dawn breaks on a misty Welsh morning, the earliest birds to break into song are likely to include European robins, followed by blackbirds and song thrushes.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Old French, pet form of the given name Robert.