Bird
Bird (bẽrd) , noun
[Old English brid, bred, bird, young bird, bird, Anglo-Saxon bridd young bird. r92.]
1.
Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2).
That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird.
The brydds [birds] of the aier have nestes.
2.
(Zoology) A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with wings. See Aves.
3.
Specifically, among sportsmen, a game bird.
4.
Figuratively: A girl; a maiden.
And by my word! the bonny bird
In danger shall not tarry.
Collocations (7)
Arabian bird , the phenix.
Bird of Jove , the eagle.
Bird of Juno , the peacock.
Bird louse (Zoology) , a wingless insect of the group Mallophaga, of which the genera and species are very numerous and mostly parasitic upon birds. -- Bird mite (Zoology), a small mite (genera Dermanyssus, Dermaleichus and allies) parasitic upon birds. The species are numerous.
Bird of passage , a migratory bird.
Bird spider (Zoology) , a very large South American spider (Mygale avicularia). It is said sometimes to capture and kill small birds.
Bird tick (Zoology) , a dipterous insect parasitic upon birds (genus Ornithomyia, and allies), usually winged.
Bird (bẽrd) , intransitive verb
1.
To catch or shoot birds.
2.
Hence: To seek for game or plunder; to thieve. [Rare] — B. Jonson
3.
to watch birds, especially in their natural habitats, for enjoyment; to birdwatch.