Godwit
/ˈɡɑd.wɪt/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of four species of long-billed migratory wading birds in the genus Limosa, of the family Scolopacidae.
"My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]"
- 2 large wading bird that resembles a curlew; has a long slightly upturned bill wordnet
Example
More examples"The bar-tailed godwit migrates from Alaska to New Zealand."
Etymology
Origin unknown. A surface analysis would suggest Old English *gōdwiht as the term's ultimate origin, corresponding to good + wight (“creature”), but the term is attested only since late Middle English. The Oxford English Dictionary considers the term to probably have originally been imitative of the bird's call.