godwit
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary considers the term to probably have originally been imitative of the bird's call.[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
godwit (plural godwits)
- Any of four species of long-billed migratory wading birds in the genus Limosa, of the family Scolopacidae.
- c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist:
- My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms
Translations[edit]
Long-billed wading bird
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References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “godwit, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.