Finch

/fɪnt͡ʃ/ name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any Eurasian goldfinch (of species Carduelis carduelis, syn. Fringilla carduelis).
  2. 2
    any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds wordnet
  3. 3
    Any bird of the family Fringillidae, seed-eating passerine birds, native chiefly to the Northern Hemisphere and usually having a conical beak.
  4. 4
    Any bird of other families of similar appearance to members of family Fringillidae.
Verb
  1. 1
    To hunt for finches, to go finching.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname transferred from the nickname, from finch as a byname or for a catcher and seller of finches.
  2. 2
    A community and former township in North Stormont, United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario, Canada.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bird group namebullfinchesbuntingcanarychaffinchescommon name

Example

More examples

"That finch is performing its cute little dentistry on a crocodile over there."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ping- Proto-Germanic *finkiz Proto-Indo-European *(s)ping- Proto-Germanic *finkô Old English finċ Middle English fynch English finch From Middle English fynch, from Old English finċ, from Proto-West Germanic *finki, from Proto-Germanic *finkiz (compare Dutch vink, German Fink), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pingos (“chaffinch”). Compare Welsh pinc (“finch”), Ancient Greek σπίγγος (spíngos, “chaffinch”), Russian пе́нка (pénka, “wren”), Sanskrit फिङ्गक (phiṅgaka, “drongo, shrike”).

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