Wavey

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a series of undulating curves or ridges resembling waves
2. Marked by a wavy, undulating surface or appearance with flowing peaks and troughs
3. Characterized by a pattern of successive curves or ripples like those of water waves

Etymology: The word "wavey" names the Wavey, or "wavy" in its spelling, a small bird, but the exact origin of its name is uncertain. One proposed explanation links it to a Cree source, suggesting the bird's name was borrowed from an Indigenous language of North America. The Cree connection is only a theory, and no firm record settles it. The more widely repeated explanation is a folk etymology, meaning an account that sounds plausible and fits the bird's behavior but is not documented. It holds that the name refers to the bird's peculiar, wavy flight, the undulating up-and-down motion that small birds of this kind often show in the air. Because the description matches what people observed, the link to flight is easy to believe, yet it may have been an after-the-fact explanation rather than the true source of the name.