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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024bit•tern1 /ˈbɪtɚn/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- Birdsa brown and whitish wading bird of the heron family.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024bit•tern1 (bit′ərn),USA pronunciation n. - any of several tawny brown herons that inhabit reedy marshes, as Botaurus lentiginosus (American bittern), of North America, and B. stellaris, of Europe.
- any of several small herons of the genus Ixobrychus, as I. exilis (least bittern), of temperate and tropical North and South America.
- Vulgar Latin *būtitaurus, equivalent. to *būti-, perh. to be identified with Latin būteō a species of hawk (see buteo) + Latin taurus bull (cited by Pliny as a name for a bird emitting a bellowing sound)
- Anglo-French bytore, Anglo-French, Old French butor
- bitter, bittor bittern + -n (perh. by association with heron), Middle English bito(u)r, butur, boto(u)r 1510–20
- Chemistrya bitter solution remaining in salt making after the salt has crystallized out of seawater or brine, used as a source of bromides, iodides, and certain other salts.
- 1675–85; variant of bittering; see bitter, -ing1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: bittern /ˈbɪtən/ n - any wading bird of the genera Ixobrychus and Botaurus, related and similar to the herons but with shorter legs and neck, a stouter body, and a booming call: family Ardeidae, order Ciconiiformes
Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French butor, perhaps from Latin būtiō bittern + taurus bull; referring to its cry |