Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A large African bird of prey (Sagittarius serpentarius) with long legs, gray and black plumage, and a crest of quills at the back of the head.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A remarkable raptorial bird of Africa, with very long legs; the serpent-eater or crane-vulture.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A large
bird of prey ,Sagittarius serpentarius , native toAfrica with very long legs, so named because of its crest of long feathers resembling quill pens stuck behind the ears of an office clerk. It preys onreptiles , especiallysnakes .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large long-legged African bird of prey that feeds on reptiles
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Probably so called after its crest of quills, which reminded 18th-century observers of legal secretaries who stuck their quills into their wigs when not writing with them.]
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Examples
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reesetee commented on the word secretary bird
See here.
December 8, 2007