bird

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: OE. brid, bred, bird, young bird, bird, AS. bridd young bird. √92.

1. Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2).

That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird.— William Shakespeare

The brydds [birds] of the aier have nestes.— Tyndale (Matt. viii. 20).

2. Zoology A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with wings. See Aves.

3. Specifically, among sportsmen, a game bird.

4. Fig.: A girl; a maiden.

And by my word! the bonny bird In danger shall not tarry.— Thomas Campbell

Arabian bird, the phenix. — Bird of Jove, the eagle. — Bird of Juno, the peacock. — Bird louse Zoology, a wingless insect of the group Mallophaga, of which the genera and species are very numerous and mostly parasitic upon birds. — Bird mite Zoology, a small mite (genera Dermanyssus, Dermaleichus and allies) parasitic upon birds. The species are numerous. — Bird of passage, a migratory bird. — Bird spider Zoology, a very large South American spider (Mygale avicularia). It is said sometimes to capture and kill small birds. — Bird tick Zoology, a dipterous insect parasitic upon birds (genus Ornithomyia, and allies), usually winged.

1. To catch or shoot birds.

2. Hence: To seek for game or plunder; to thieve. rare Ben Jonson

3. to watch birds, especially in their natural habitats, for enjoyment; to birdwatch.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors