Jump to content

godwit

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Godwit

Etymology

[edit]

Origin unknown. A surface analysis would suggest Old English *gōdwiht as the term's ultimate origin, corresponding to good +‎ wight (“creature”), but the term is attested only since late Middle English.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary considers the term to probably have originally been imitative of the bird's call.[1]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

godwit (plural godwits)

  1. Any of four species of long-billed migratory wading birds in the genus Limosa, of the family Scolopacidae.
    • c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist:
      My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]

Synonyms

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]
Derived terms

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “godwit, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=godwit&oldid=82402305"