Widow bird
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of several species of birds in the family Viduidae, incorporating whydahs and widow finches.
- 2 mostly black African weaverbird wordnet
- 3 Any of several species of birds in the genus Euplectes.
Synonyms
All synonymsEtymology
Compound of widow + bird. The name for the family Viduidae derives from the genus name Vidua, from post-classical Latin vidua (“widow”) for males' black plumage, which resembles the mourning clothes of a widow. Compare whydah, from Whydah, a city in the Kingdom of Dahomey, now Ouidah, Benin. The terms widow-bird and whydah-bird influenced one another due to association of one species with the city.