cushat

English

Alternative forms

• cowshot (Lancashire)

Etymology

From Middle English cowshott, cowschote, quyshte, from Old English cūsċeote (literally “cow shoot”), although it is difficult to understand why such a name would be given to these birds. Doublet of quist.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʌʃət/, /ˈkʊʃət/

Noun

cushat (plural cushats)

1. (Geordie or literary) A pigeon, wood pigeon or ring dove.
   • 1888, Gordon Stables, In Touch with Nature: Tales and Sketches from the Life, page 46:

     [A]nd no sound falls on my ears, except the distant roar of a passing train, the song of linnets, and croodle of turtle-dove and cushat.

Synonyms

• cushat dove, cushat-dove, queest, quist

Translations

informal: pigeon; wood pigeon; ring dove

• Bulgarian: гривяк m (grivjak)
• Finnish: pulu (fi)
• Greek: φάσσα f (fássa)

  Ancient: φάσσα f (phássa)

• Russian: лесно́й го́лубь m (lesnój gólubʹ), вя́хирь (ru) m (vjáxirʹ)

References

• “cushat”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• Frank Graham, editor (1987), “CUSHAT”, in The New Geordie Dictionary, Rothbury, Northumberland: Butler Publishing, →ISBN.
• Scott Dobson, Dick Irwin “cushat”, in Newcastle 1970s: Durham & Tyneside Dialect Group‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-09-05.

Anagrams

• tuchas, Schaut