Bustard

//ˈbʌs.təd// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of several large terrestrial birds of the family Otididae in the order Otidiformes that inhabit dry open country and steppes in the Old World.
  2. 2
    large heavy-bodied chiefly terrestrial game bird capable of powerful swift flight; classified with wading birds but frequents grassy steppes wordnet
  3. 3
    bastard euphemistic, slang

    "That bustard tried to conquer the world!"

Example

More examples

"The pheasant, the bustard, the deaf wild peacock, the moorhen, the partridge, the woodcock and the thrush are said to be delicacies."

Etymology

From Middle English bustarde, from an Anglo-Norman blend of Old French bistarde and oustarde, both from Latin avis tarda (“slow bird”), which is a misnomer as bustards are fast runners.

Related phrases

Arabian bustardArdeotis arabsArdeotis australisArdeotis koriArdeotis nigricepsAustralian bustardChlamydotis macqueeniiChlamydotis undulataDenham's bustardEupodotis humilisEupodotis senegalensisHartlaub's bustard

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.