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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.

Definition 2024


curlew

curlew

English

A curlew

Noun

curlew (plural curlews)

  1. Any of several migratory wading birds in the genus Numenius of the family Scolopacidae, remarkable for their long, slender, downcurved bills.

Derived terms

See also

Translations