Curlew
//ˈkɜːlju// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of several migratory wading birds in the genus Numenius, remarkable for their long, slender, downcurved bills.
- 2 large migratory shorebirds of the sandpiper family; closely related to woodcocks but having a down-curved bill wordnet
- 3 A stone curlew (Burhinidae spp.). Australia
"That quivering wail from the billabong lying murkily mystic towards the East was only the cry of the fearing curlew."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"One great grey bird, a gull or curlew, soared aloft in the blue heaven. He and I seemed to be the only living things between the huge arch of the sky and the desert beneath it."
Etymology
From Middle English curlew, from Old French courlieu (see French courlis), claimed to be imitative of the bird's cry but apparently assimilated with dialectal *corliu (“runner, messenger”), a variant of coureur (the bird is adept at running).
Related phrases
More for "curlew"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.