dabchick

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (3)  · 
“
It was no doubt a dabchick, then, from your description, though I was not in time to see it before it dived; if we keep quite still and silent I dare say it will appear again.

View all »
Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun Any of various small grebes of the genus Podiceps.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (34)

  • There was the occasional plop of a rising fish, a scurry as a dabchick made for home and other, less identifiable sounds. —  Wraiths And Changelings-Gladys Mitchell-Bradley 53
  • It was no doubt a dabchick, then, from your description, though I was not in time to see it before it dived; if we keep quite still and silent I dare say it will appear again. —  Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children
  • "So active and truly aquatic is the dabchick, even when only one or two days old, that it is almost impossible to see it in a state of nature; for immediately after the young birds are hatched, they either take to the water of their own accord, or cling when not more than an hour old to the backs of their parents, who dive away with them out of harm's way." —  Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children
  • Keep your gun to your shoulder, and fire the moment there is even a ripple anywhere near the boy Uncle Jack obeyed, while as Norman looked up, he saw himself apparently covered by the two guns, and at once dived like a dabchick Madness! —  The Dingo Boys The Squatters of Wallaby Range
  • All these diving motions are executed in a more delicate but quite as wonderful way by the dabchick,--more wonderful indeed it may be said, because it has only the divided or chestnut-leaf-like foot, to strike with. —  Love's Meinie Three Lectures on Greek and English Birds
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 29 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Alteration of dobchick : Middle English doppe, diving bird (from Old English -doppa; see didapper) + chick.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. A variant of dobchick, dopchick.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈdæbtʃɪk/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

We are still working on calculating this word's frequency.

Recently looked up

corset · groundcar · mellifluous · pigeon · mome

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

wub wub · merch · these grunts every eight hours · haul it off to our darkest dungeon · send for a doctor