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Webster 1913 Edition
Curlew
Cur′lew
(kûr′lū)
, Noun.
[F.
courlieu
, corlieu
, courlis
; perh. of imitative origin, but cf. OF. corlieus
courier; L. currere
to run + levis
light.] (Zool.)
A wading bird of the genus
Numenius
, remarkable for its long, slender, curved bill. ☞ The common European curlew is
Numenius arquatus
. The long-billed (Numenius longirostris
), the Hudsonian (Numenius Hudsonicus
), and the Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis
, are American species. The name is said to imitate the note of the European species. Curlew Jack
(Zool.)
the whimbrel or lesser curlew.
– Curlew sandpiper
(Zool.)
, a sandpiper (
Tringa ferruginea
or Tringa subarquata
), common in Europe, rare in America, resembling a curlew in having a long, curved bill. See Illustation in Appendix.Webster 1828 Edition
Curlew
CURLEW
,Noun.
1.
An aquatic fowl of the genus Scolopax and the grallic order. It has a long bill; its color is diversified with ash and black; and the largest species spread more than three feet of wing. It frequents the sea shore in winter, and in summer, retires to the mountains.2.
A fowl, larger than a partridge, with longer legs, which frequents the corn-fields in Spain.