What does "turtle dove" mean?

Any of several (species of) birds, called by this traditional name, mainly in the genus Streptopelia, of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons, which also included the extinct passenger pigeon, dodo, and solitaire).

What is a synonym for "turtle dove"?

Common synonyms include: turtledove, turtledoves.

Turtle dove

/ˈtɝtəldʌv/ noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of several (species of) birds, called by this traditional name, mainly in the genus Streptopelia, of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons, which also included the extinct passenger pigeon, dodo, and solitaire).
2
A lover or couple as a pair.
"Out for their evening constitutional. A lovely pair of turtledoves. Around the jolly corner, and off to the park."

Synonyms

All synonyms

turtledove turtledoves

Example

More examples

"Out for their evening constitutional. A lovely pair of turtledoves. Around the jolly corner, and off to the park."

Etymology

From Middle English turtildove, turteldoufe (cognate with Old High German turtultūba, turtulatūba, turtiltūba, Middle High German turteltūbe, türteltūbe, German Turteltaube; German Low German Turtelduuv, Dutch tortelduif, Faroese turtildúgva, Icelandic turtildúfa), Danish turteldue, Norwegian Bokmål turteldue, Norwegian Nynorsk turteldue, Swedish turturduva. The first element is from Latin turtur (“turtledove”) (compare the archaic synonym turtle (“turtle dove (bird)”); the word is not related to turtle (“reptile with a shell”).

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