Bittern
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae.
"It is a great rock or cliff on the loneliest part of the mountains, and […] is known by the name of the Garden Rock. Near the foot of it is a small lake, the haunt of the solitary bittern, with water-snakes basking in the sun on the leaves of the pond-lilies which lie on the surface."
- 2 The liquor remaining after halite (common salt) has been harvested from saline water (brine). countable, uncountable
- 3 relatively small compact tawny-brown heron with nocturnal habits and a booming cry; found in marshes wordnet
- 4 The saline substance added to soy milk to coagulate it as a primary step in the production of tofu. countable, uncountable
"Now we add the bittern."
- 5 A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 1 A town in the Shire of Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The osprey and the sea mew, fly down to catch fish, but the Heron catches them while standing on the banks. The bittern puts its bill into the water and bellows like an ox. The water wagtail wags its tail."
Etymology
From Middle English bitour, botor, from Old French butor, from Gallo-Roman *butitaurus, a blend of Latin būtiō (“bittern”) and taurus (“bull, ox”).
From bitter with an unclear suffix, perhaps a dialect form of -ing.
Related phrases
More for "bittern"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.