# The Zoologist/4th series, vol 4 (1900)/Issue 713/The origin and meaning of the Names of British Birds, Meiklejohn

Published in The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 4 (1900), issue 713, November, p. 511–516.
THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS.
By A.H. Meiklejohn.
Although the names of our commoner British Birds are more or less familiar to everyone, but little attention appears to have been given to their original source and significance. The subjoined list does not in any way lay claim to complete fulness, but it is put forward in the hope that it may possibly arouse some interest in this neglected side of our bird-nomenclature. In most birds' names special stress is invariably laid on some well-known or easily distinguished peculiarity either in cry, flight, or appearance. It is interesting to note how many names are imitative of birds' cries, as in pipit, shrike, twite, crow, owl, crake, &c, and more especially in cuckoo, hoopoe, and kittiwake. The origin of some of the names appears to be quite unknown, e. g. gull, auk, garganey, &c. In the list given below no attempt has been made to follow out the meaning of a name with a too great philological keenness, as in that case I should be exceeding the necessarily limited province of a paper of this kind.
Fieldfare = field-farer, i.e. "the crosser (or traverser) of the fields"—in allusion, of course, to its migratory habits.
Ousel is simply a variation of the German amsel, a Blackbird.
Wheatear, probably = white-erse (arse) = white-rump—the last a common name for the bird in Scotland and elsewhere. Compare the French, cul blanc. Another suggested, though far less probable, derivation is that it = whitty-er = whitterer, from whitter, "to complain"—a word still used, I believe, in some parts of Lincolnshire.
Redstart = red-tail. (Compare wagstart for wagtail.) The idea that start may here have the meaning of "to twitch or ​move involuntarily" should not be lost sight of. The construction "red-twitcher" certainly characterizes the well-known vibration of the bird's tail.
Robin is simply a familiar form of Robert (cf. mag-pie, jack-daw, and martin). A possible connection with ruby has been suggested, but this is unlikely.
Nightingale = Anglo-Saxon nihte-galle, "the singer of the night."
Dipper. This may either mean "the bird that dives for a short time" (dips), or it has reference more probably to the peculiar dipping "bob" of the bird while standing on a stone in mid-stream.
Titmouse; spelt by Spenser, titmose. Both tit (cf. tit-lark) and mouse have the same meaning, viz. "small." The proper plural of the word is therefore titmouses—mouse, in this case, having no connection with the rodent of that name. In Suffolk the plural titmousen is still used.
Nuthatch = nut-hacker.
Oriole = the golden bird (Latin, aureolus).
Swallow may possibly mean "the tosser about" or "mover to and fro," allied to the Greek σαλευειν, to shake. On the other hand, the Teutonic name, swalgwon, points to a possible connection with ἁλκυὠν, "a kingfisher," owing perhaps to the appearance of the Swallow during the fine weather of the "Halcyon days."
Finch is probably imitative of the Chaffinch's call-note—a bird common all over Europe; but it is possibly a variation of the German fink, "smart" or "gay."
Sparrow = the flutterer, from a root spar, to quiver. It is, however, not improbable that spar may here have its meaning of "to wrangle," in reference to the constant bickerings of these birds.
Linnet, so called from its fondness for the seeds of linum, flax or hemp.
Bunting probably means "the little speckled bird," from the German bunt, "speckled," + ing, a diminute ending. There is, however, some possibility of its connection with a Lowland Scotch word, buntin, meaning "short and thick." In Scotland bunt is still used for a rabbit's "scut."
​Chough is akin to "Caw," and is therefore imitative.
Jay (older spelling gay or gai) = a bird of gay plumage.
Pie is imitative, and signifies "a chirper." It is probably akin to Latin picus.
Raven = Anglo-Saxon hraefn, probably connected with krap, to make a noise; cf. Latin crepare. The word has absolutely nothing to do with ravenous, &c, which is akin to rapine.
Rook—in Anglo-Saxon, hróc, "a croaker"—is imitative.
Lark is a contraction of lavrock or laverock; Anglo-Saxon, láwerce. In Icelandic there is a word lae-wirki, "a worker of guile," and it has been suggested that lâwerce is another form of this. Should this be correct, it would appear that the Lark must for some reason have been a bird of ill-omen to our Anglo-Saxon ancestors.
Owl is imitative, and connected with Howl, which appears in "howlet."
Vulture = the tearer (Latin, vellere).
Buzzard, formerly spelt busard, which comes through Low Latin from the Latin buteo—a word used by Pliny to signify the Sparrow-Hawk.
Hawk, "the seizer." Root hab, as in German haben.
Kite probably comes from a Teutonic root skot, "to shoot" or "go swiftly"; and the same root is seen in Scoter, and in the American slang word "scoot."
Falcon, so called from its sickle- (Lat. falx) shaped beak and talons.
Merlin comes, through the French, from the Latin merula, a blackbird; cf. merle.
Osprey is a corruption of ossifragus, "the bone-breaker."
Cormorant is a corruption of Corvus marinus, "the seacrow." The Spanish name is Cuervo marino.
Shag, so called from its crest. It is practically the same word as the Scandivanian skägg, "a beard," or anything that juts out.
Gannet, "little goose." Root gan (as in gan-der) + diminutive suffix -et.
Heron is probably imitative of the bird's cry, and, in ​this case, is connected with the German häher, a jackdaw, lit. "laughter." Cf. heighaw, a provincial name for the Green Woodpecker.
Bittern was erroneously supposed to be a corruption of bos taurus, in reference to the bird's bellowing capabilities. It is more probably a variation of the Latin butio, an imitative word connected with bubere, to cry.
Stork probably means "the tall bird," connected with Anglo-Saxon stealc, high.
Sheldrake. Sheld, flecked or variegated, simply = shield, in allusion to the ornamentation, with which these weapons were covered. Cf. sheld-apple, a Chaffinch.
Mallard = male-ard. The suffix -ard was frequently added to masculine names for the sake of emphasis. The word therefore rightly refers to the drake only.
Gadwall remains undecipherable.
Teal originally meant "a brood," from telen, to breed; but as to the origin of its use in a specific sense nothing is known.
Garganey, a name first introduced, I believe, by Willughby from Gesner. Nothing is known of its meaning or origin.
Wigeon, Old French vigeon, has perhaps a connection with the Latin vipio, a small Crane with a whistling cry; but this is extremely problematical.
Pochard is said to be a variation of Poacher. Apparently the name at first referred to the Wigeon, in allusion to its supposed habit of seizing (poaching) the food brought to the surface by the diving ducks.
Scoter. See under Kite.
Smew, and similarly smee and smeath, is probably imitative of the bird's "mewing" cry. The suggestion that the word is a corruption of "ice-mew" is untenable.
Capercaillie = Gaelic capull-coille, "great cock (or horse) of the wood." The word capull has probably some connection with Latin caballus.
Grouse, curiously enough, has been falsely formed on the analogy of mouse. The original spelling is grice, from an Old French word griesche, grey, thus giving the meaning of "the grey bird." A derivation from the Welsh grugiar, a heath-hen (grug, heath + iar, a hen) has also been suggested.
​Ptarmigan is a French spelling of the Gaelic tarmachan. What the word means is unknown, though it should be noted that there is, in Gaelic, a verb tarmaich, to gather, with which tarmachan may have some connection.
Pheasant, the bird from the Phasis, a river in Transcaucasia (Colchis), now called the Rion.
Partridge, from the French perdrix, which, with the intrusion of a "r," comes from the Latin perdix—a word probably imitative of the cock bird's call.
Quail, lit. "the quacker." A contraction of Low Latin quaquila.
Rail is imitative, from the Old French raller, to rattle in the throat.
Coot, "the shortened bird," is a Celtic word. The Welsh name is cwtiar, the short-tailed hen. Cf. cut, to make short.
Crane is probably imitative, and connected with a root gar, to call, as in garrulus.
Bustard is a corruption of avistard = Latin avis tarda, the slow bird. Cf. Ostrich, which = avis struthio.
Dotterel, "the silly bird," comes from dote, to be foolish. Our slang word "dotty" has the same origin.
Plover, "the rain bird," comes, through the French pluvier, from the Latin pluvarius, belonging to rain. The restlessness of Plovers before rain is well known.
Lapwing was in Middle English lappëwinkë. Lappë = hleápe, from hleápan, "to spring," and winkë means "a twitching movement from side to side." The connection between these meanings and the bird's irregular mode of flight is clearly seen. The word does not mean "wing-flapper."
Snipe, at one time variously spelt Snype or Snyte—in allusion to the bird's characteristic "snout" or bill.
Dunlin = dunling, the little dun bird, -ling is a diminutive ending, and appears in gosling, duckling, starling, nestling, &c.
Stint = the stunted bird.
Knot is traditionally supposed to mean "Knut's (Canute's) bird," though for what reason it is impossible now to say. However, this monarch had a berry (viz. the Knout-berry), so he may have had a bird as well.
Whimbrel = whimmerel, imitative of its cry.
​Guillemot = gull (a Celtic word) + mouette (French), "a sea-mew."
Puffin probably means "the little bird with the puffed-out beak." The -in is a diminutive ending.
Grebe, "the crested bird," from the Gaelic crib, a comb or crest.
Fulmar = foulmart (the polecat), in allusion, of course, to the bird's strong and persistent odour.
Petrel, or, more correctly, Peterel = St. Peter's bird—so called from the appearance the bird has of walking on the sea.