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Definition 2024


osprey

osprey

English

An osprey.
An osprey in flight.

Noun

osprey (plural ospreys)

  1. A bird of prey (Pandion haliaetus) that feeds on fish and has white underparts and long, narrow wings each ending in four finger-like extensions.
    • 1594, I will provide thee of a princely osprey. Peele, Battle of Alcazar
    • c. 1612-13: But (oh Jove!) your actions, / Soon as they move, as ospreys do the fish, / Subdue before they touch. Shakespeare, Fletcher, Two Noble Kinsmen
  2. aigrette (ornamental feather)

Synonyms

  • fish eagle (a misnomer as the osprey is not an eagle, but compare some of the translations below)
  • fish hawk (a misnomer as the osprey is not a hawk)
  • orfray (obsolete, incorrect)
  • ossifrage (from Latin "bone-breaker")
  • osspringer (obsolete)

Translations