Thrushlike

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the appearance, sound, or characteristics of a thrush, a songbird with speckled breast and melodious call
2. Similar in form or song to a thrush, the speckled brown songbird known for its rich, flute-like voice
3. Of or pertaining to the thrush family of birds, marked by spotted plumage and melodic singing

Etymology: "Thrushlike" is about as plain as English compounding gets: the noun "thrush," the name of a songbird, with the suffix "-like" attached to mean "having the qualities of" or "resembling." Put together, it describes anything that looks or sounds like a thrush, whether a bird, a voice, or a speckled pattern. The suffix does most of the work here. "-like" has been productive since Old English, when "-lic" was used to form adjectives from nouns, and it has long been attached freely to animals, people, and objects to make new descriptive words. "Thrush" itself comes from Old English "þrysce," a name for the songbird, so the new word is simply the old bird name with a familiar descriptive ending.