passerine
“
It is the term applied to a one-year-old sheep. passerine It ought to be a bird of passage, but it isn't.
View all »Definitions (9)
American Heritage Dictionary (2)
- adjective Of or relating to birds of the order Passeriformes, which includes perching birds and songbirds such as the jays, blackbirds, finches, warblers, and sparrows.
- noun A bird of the order Passeriformes.
Century Dictionary (3)
GNU Webster's 1913 (2)
WordNet (2)
Elsewhere on the web
View all » Examples
- Hood's labors were poetic, but his sports were passerine. — Charles Lamb
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It is the term applied to a one-year-old sheep. passerine It ought to be a bird of passage, but it isn't.
— VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XV No 2 -
And the muffled "chirrrr-roop" of a passerine songbird, somewhere down the canyon.
— grouse Diary Entry -
Furthermore, they are all comparatively large, and if they ever become feral in England, it will not be for many years to come That these large kinds thrive so well with us is an encouraging fact; but the question that concerns us at present is the feasibility of importing birds of the grove, chiefly of the passerine order, and sending them forth to give a greater variety and richness to our bird life.
— Birds in Town and Village -
- ine adjectives that pertain to, resemble or are characteristic of an animal: accipitrine ` hawklike 'leonine ` lionlike' anguine ` snakelike 'lupine ` wolflike' anserine ` gooselike 'lutrine ` otterlike' aquiline ` eaglelike 'murine ` mouselike' asinine ` asslike 'oscine ` songbirdlike' bovine ` cowlike 'ovine ` sheeplike' canine ` doglike 'passerine ` perching - caprine ` goatlike' songbirdlike 'cervine ` deerlike' pavonine ` peacocklike 'colubrine ` kingsnakelike' piscine ` fishlike 'or ` gartersnakelike' porcine ` piglike or elephantine ` elephantlike '` swinelike' equine ` horselike 'ranine ` froglike' feline ` catlike 'serpentine ` serpentlike' herpestine ` mongooselike 'suilline ` hoglike' hircine ` goatlike, 'especially suine ` swinelike' in strong odor taurine ` bull-like 'or lustfulness ursine ` bearlike' lacertine or lacertilian viperine ` viperlike '
— VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol III No 3
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View all »Etymologies (3)
American Heritage Dictionary (1)
- Latin passerīnus, of sparrows, from passer, sparrow.
Century Dictionary (1)
GNU Webster's 1913 (1)
WordNet
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Pronunciations
/ (păsˈə-rīnˌ)/
ahd pronounces "passerine"
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American Heritage Dictionary