Onomatopoeic is an adjective which means something that’s imitative in origin or echoic. Words like buzz or hiss relate to the sounds a bee and a snake make, respectively.
For today’s Weird Word Wednesday, let’s look at three names of birds that are onomatopoeic: Bobwhite, dickcissel, and willet.
Here’s what www.merriam-webster (unabridged edition) says about these weird words:
Pronunciation: [ (ˈ)bäb-¦(h)wīt ]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: Any quail of the genus Colinus of which the best-known species (C. virginianus) includes a favorite game bird of the eastern and central U.S. that is replaced in Cuba, Texas, and Mexico by members of related varieties and species, all being about 10 inches long and mottled above with gray, rufous, and whitish, the male having the head striped with black and white and a white throat patch.
Language origin: Imitative
“Bobwhite.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/bobwhite. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.
dickcissel:
Pronunciation: [ dick-siss-uhl ]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: A common migratory finch (Spiza americana) that breeds throughout the central U.S., is brownish streaked with black and gray above with black throat, white chin, and yellowish breast, and feeds chiefly on weed seeds and grasshoppers.
Language origin: Imitative
“Dickcissel.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/dickcissel. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.
willet
Pronunciation: [ ˈwilə̇t ]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: A large shore bird (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) of the eastern and Gulf coasts and the central parts of North America having summer plumage barred and mottled with blackish patches and in winter the upperparts plain brownish gray, the breast pale gray, and the belly white.
Language origin: Imitative
“Willet.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/willet. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.
If you want to hear what sounds these birds make and help you to identify thousands of other birds, check out Cornell University’s BirdNET Sound ID App.