Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A traditional Pennsylvania Dutch folk art motif of a bird or birds symbolizing good luck and happiness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A stylized goldfinch in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, representing happiness and good fortune.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From German, goldfinch, from Middle High German distelvinke, from Old High German distilvinko : distil, thistle; see steig- in Indo-European roots + vinko, finch.]

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Examples

  • Feed mii scraple en cawl mii a distelfink, butt WT-teknoe!

    u see teh arrow on mai hed? - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • Another such word is geoduck, which is pronounced "gooey duck"; a less violently dissonant, but still unpredictable, spelling is distelfink, which according to Merriam-Webster's is pronounced DISH-tlfink it's from Pennsylvania Dutch dischdelfink 'goldfinch', although the AHD gives the normalized DIST-lfink.

    languagehat.com: ENGLISH SPELLING. 2004

  • They have groovy geometric folk symbols said to have magical properties: a heart for love, the distelfink a cute bird for good luck and happiness.

    Home Swell Home Cynthia Rowley 2002

  • They have groovy geometric folk symbols said to have magical properties: a heart for love, the distelfink a cute bird for good luck and happiness.

    Home Swell Home Cynthia Rowley 2002

  • They have groovy geometric folk symbols said to have magical properties: a heart for love, the distelfink a cute bird for good luck and happiness.

    Home Swell Home Cynthia Rowley 2002

  • If you stole someone's five-foot good luck distelfink, the Pennsylvania Dutch would like to speak ...

    Latest News - UPI.com 2009

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