Siskin
noun
noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small green and yellow European finch, Carduelis spinus spinus or Carduelis spinus, now Spinus spinus.
"I sat there on a bench in dappled shade, beside an aviary full of brightly feathered finches and siskins fluttering about."
- 2 small yellow-and-black Eurasian finch with a sharp beak wordnet
- 3 Any of various similar birds in subfamily Carduelinae, principally in the genus Spinus.
Example
More examples"The Lark sings as it flies in the air, the Quail sitting on the ground; others, on the boughs of trees, such as: the Canary, the Chaffinch, the Goldfinch, the Siskin, the Linner, the little Titmouse, the Woodwall, the Robin Redbreast, the Hedge Sparrow and so on."
Etymology
From dialectal German Sisschen, Zeischen, diminutive form of Middle High German zīsec, apparently ultimately from Proto-Slavic *čižь (compare e.g. Polish czyżyk).
Related phrases
More for "siskin"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.