Byrdling

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, recently hatched or fledgling bird that has not yet grown its full adult feathers
2. An immature bird, especially one that is newly out of the nest and still dependent on its parents
3. The young of a bird, often used for a nestling or chick that is still learning to fly

Etymology: "Byrdling" is a rare English word meaning a young bird, a nestling or fledgling. It is formed from "bird" plus the diminutive suffix "-ling," the same ending found in "duckling," "gosling," and "earthling." The suffix comes from Old English "-ling," and it was used to mark something small or young, so "bird" plus "-ling" naturally gave a young bird. The base word has a surprising past. Old English had "brid" for a young bird, not a bird in general. The word for the wider class of birds was "fugol," which survives in the modern "fowl." Over time "brid" narrowed its meaning in a different direction, and "bird" came to mean any bird, while the older sense of "young bird" was carried by compounds like "byrdling." That is why a word that sounds like a diminutive of "bird" is in fact a diminutive of a word that once meant the young of the species.