Bird

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bɜːd/

Definitions

1. A feathered vertebrate animal with wings, lay eggs, and typically the ability to fly
2. A warm-blooded vertebrate with feathers that lays eggs and often possesses the capability of flight
3. A creature characterized by feathers, wings, and egg-laying, commonly able to fly in various habitats

Etymology: The surprising twist here is that "bird" once meant a young one. In Old English, "bridd" referred specifically to a chick, fledgling, or chicken, meaning a creature that could not yet fly. The general Old English word for flying birds was "fugol," the ancestor of modern "fowl." Over time "bridd" took over that wider role, and from the 14th century onward it gradually replaced "fowl" as the everyday term. The origin of "bridd" itself is uncertain. The word has also picked up some unexpected slang. The rude sense of jeering or booing comes from the phrase "to give the big bird," meaning to hiss at someone like a goose, which is recorded from the mid-18th century. The obscene hand gesture is linked to the same expression. Another sense has a playful origin. In Cockney rhyming slang, "bird" was shortened from "birdlime," rhyming with "time," so "bird" came to mean a period of imprisonment, a sentence served.

Synonyms: avian, fowl, winged creature, sparrow, eagle

Antonyms: mammal, reptile, fish, insect, amphibian