Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of several Old World birds of the genus Vanellus related to the plovers, especially V. vanellus, having a narrow crest and erratic flight behavior. Also called green plover, pewit.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A plover-like bird with four toes, a crest, and lustrous plumage, belonging to the genus Vanellus and family Charadriidæ. The best-known lapwing is V. cristatus, a common European bird, also called
pe-wit , from its cry. The adult male has the upper parts iridescent with green, violet, and purplish tints, the under parts white, a large area on the breast and the top of the head and the long crest black, the tail-coverts chestnut or orange-brown, the tail black and white, the bill black, and the feet red. It is about as large as a pigeon. The eggs are esteemed a great luxury, and many are annually sent to the London markets from the marshy districts of England, under the name of plovers' eggs. There are other species. Also calledflopuing .
Wiktionary
- n. Any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae of the family Charadriidae.
- n. A silly man.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A small European bird of the Plover family (Vanellus cristatus, or Vanellus vanellus). It has long and broad wings, and is noted for its rapid, irregular fight, upwards, downwards, and in circles. Its back is coppery or greenish bronze. Its eggs are the “plover's eggs” of the London market, esteemed a delicacy. It is called also
peewit ,dastard plover , andwype . The gray lapwing is the Squatarola cinerea.
WordNet 3.0
- n. large crested Old World plover having wattles and spurs
Etymologies
- By folk etymology from Middle English lapwink, hoopoe, lapwing, from Old English hlēapewince : hlēapan, to leap + *wincan, to waver.
Examples
“The lapwing is a kind of plover, and is very swift of foot.”
“Kibitz The flycatcher (also called lapwing, pewit, and other names) is an insectivorous bird with an irritating cry.”
“a big kind of lapwing and snipe; but the snipe here were cunning, and got up wild and flew far, so I only got a small bag.”
“(March-Cock) from its returning in that month, and our old writers "lapwing" (Deut. xiv.”
“This species, which is endemic to marshes and moorlands located in the Ethiopian highlands, is very much like the northern lapwing, V. vanellus, found in Europe: it is a relatively tame, noisy bird with a swerving flight that feeds on the ground, making short runs and sudden stops.”
The Guardian: Mystery bird: Spot-breasted plover, Vanellus melanocephalus
“The spot-breasted lapwing is distinguished from its close relatives by the fleshy wattles in front of its eyes and by its black-spotted breast.”
The Guardian: Mystery bird: Spot-breasted plover, Vanellus melanocephalus
“Spot-breasted plover, Vanellus melanocephalus (formerly, Tylibyx melanocephalus and Hoplopterus melanocephalus; protonym, Lobivanellus melanocephalus), also known as the spot-breasted lapwing, photographed at Bale Mountains (also known as the Urgoma Mountains), Ethiopia (Africa).”
The Guardian: Mystery bird: Spot-breasted plover, Vanellus melanocephalus
“The lapwing soaring blunt-winged over a plowed field and calling out his sharp whistle means nothing to me, for everything means nothing to me.”
“This coincides with the recent northern expansion of other wet-grassland waders, such as the common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) in the Bolshemelzkaya tundra [14], the black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), and the northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) in northern Russia concomitant with a northward expansion of agriculture including sown meadows [15].”
Recent and projected changes in arctic species distributions and potential ranges
“The Gudo plains, west of Addis Ababa, is a particularly important conservation area for the spot-breasted lapwing (Vanellus melanocephalus), which is endemic to the Ethiopian highlands.”
Lists
‘lapwing’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
ofravens He names a lapwing, starts rabbits in a rout
legging it most nimble
to sprigged hedge of bramble,
stalks red fox, shrewd stoat.
from "Ode for Ted," Sylvia Plath Apr 14, 2008