tick

From Middle English *tik, tek, tyche (“light touch, tap”), from the verb (see Etymology 3 below). Compare Dutch tik (“a pat, tap”), Middle High German zic (“a slight touch”).

cog

(computing) A jiffy (unit of time defined by basic timer frequency).

I'll be back in a tick.

(colloquial) A short period of time, particularly a second.


chat

en-verb

chat (third-person singular simple present chats, present participle chatting, simple past and past participle chatted)

chat Two people chatting. (canonical)
chats (present singular third-person)
chatting (participle present)
chatted (participle past)
chatted (past)

Abbreviation of chatter. The bird sense refers to the sound of its call.

Do you want to chat online later?

To exchange text or voice messages in real time through a computer network, as if having a face-to-face conversation.

(by extension, Philippines) To send a text message via Facebook Messenger instead of via SMS.


chat

en-noun

chat (countable and uncountable, plural chats)

Internet Relay Chat

(countable, uncountable) An exchange of text or voice messages in real time through a computer network, resembling a face-to-face conversation.

談話 /谈话

conversation to stop an argument or settle situations

دَرْدَشَة

(Internet, uncountable, with or without "the") A chat room, especially (in later use) one accompanying a videoconference or live stream.

(by extension, nonstandard, humorous) Familiar term of address for users on social media other than a chat room, as in "guys."

(countable) Any of various small Old World passerine birds in the muscicapid tribe Saxicolini or subfamily Saxicolinae that feed on insects.


robin

Short for robin redbreast. Also from Middle English robynet, robynett (“robin (bird)”), from the Middle English name Robynett, a diminutive of the Middle English name Robyn (“Robin”).
]
]

As they turned into Hertford Street they startled a robin from the poet's head on a barren fountain, and he fled away with a cameo note.

1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./4/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

Erithacus rubecula
Erithacus rubecula#Translingual

Any of various passerine birds (about 100 species) of the families Muscicapidae, Turdidae and Petroicidae (formerly Eopsaltriidae), typically with a red breast.

Turdus migratorius
Turdus migratorius#Translingual


robin

(organic chemistry) A toxalbumin obtained from the locust tree.


nightingale

Inherited from Middle English nyghtyngale, nightingale, niȝtingale, alteration (with intrusive n) of nyghtgale, nightegale, from Old English nihtegala, nihtegale (“nightingale; night-raven”, literally “night-singer”), from Proto-West Germanic *nahtigalā (“nightingale”), equivalent to a compound of night + gale. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Noachtegoal (“nightingale”), Dutch nachtegaal (“nightingale”), German Low German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), Danish nattergal (“thrush nightingale”), Swedish näktergal (“nightingale”), Icelandic næturgali (“nightingale”).

cog

Nightingales have been spotted in this coppice.

You sing like a nightingale, sport!

Some admired the external beauties of the objects they beheld, like the nightingale in love with the roſe.

1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page v:

The oaks around were the home of a tribe of nightingales.

1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter V, in The Last Man. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

And David's Lips are lock't; but in divine
High piping Péhlevi, with "Wine! Wine! Wine!
Red Wine!" — the Nightingale cries to the Rose
That yellow Cheek of her's to'incarnadine.

1859, Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: The Astronomer-Poet of Persia, page 2:

The air, too, was heavy with perfume, and a nightingale, high in the heavens, gave out a cheery song of welcome.

1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 222:

Luscinia megarhynchos
Luscinia megarhynchos#Translingual

A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.


clodhopper

Compound of clod + hopper (agentive form of the verb hop). Perhaps affected by analogy with grasshopper. Attested in the sense of "peasant" since the seventeenth century; the extended sense of "boot" or "shoe" dates from the nineteenth century.

Smiling Jim Mead of New York tries on his GI clodhopper boots. He decided to return them "because we couldn't make any altitude with those aboard."

1943 August 16, “Senators go global: Five will fly to all fronts”, in LIFE Magazine:

(military slang) United States Navy ankle length work shoes, distinct from dress shoes or combat boots.


cobweb

From Middle English copweb, coppeweb. Compare Middle Dutch kopwebbe, German Low German Kobbenwebbe (Westphalian). By surface analysis, cop (“spider”, obsolete) + web.

surf

European spotted flycatcher
European spotted flycatcher

Muscicapa striata
Muscicapa striata#Translingual

The European spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata.


robinet

(historical) A military engine formerly used for throwing darts and stones.


redstart

Inherited from Middle English *redstert; equivalent to red + start (“tail”). Compare Dutch roodstaart, Danish rødstjert.

(Canada, US) A species of warbler native to the Americas, Setophaga ruticilla, only distantly related to Phoenicurus.


bluethroat

Luscinia svecica
Luscinia svecica#Translingual

A small Old World passerine bird, of species Luscinia svecica, the male in spring having a bright blue throat.


wheatear

Uncertain. Probably a back-formation from Middle English whit ers (“white arse”), after the prominent white rump of many species. Compare dialect forms white rump, white-tail. Possibly a compound of wheat + ear or white + ear. Attested since the seventeenth century as wheat-ears or wheatgear.

What abundance of Hens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, Pigeons, and Larks? [...] Maychit, Stint, Sea-Plover, Pewits, Redshanks, Rayles, and Wheat-ears, Herrons, Cranes, Bitterns, Bustards, Puffins, God-wits,

1669, Edward Chamberlayne, Angliae Notitia; or, The Present State of England, London: T.N. for John Martyn, →OCLC, page 6:

great plenty of the birds so much admired at Tunbridge under the name of wheat-ears. By-the-bye, this is a pleasant corruption of white-a—se, the translation of the French name cul blanc, taken from their color; for they are actually white towards the tail.

1796, Tobias Smollett, The miscellaneous works of Tobias Smollett, M.D. With memoirs of his life and writings, Edinburgh: J. Mundell, →OCLC, page 21:

Any of various passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe that feed on insects,

Oenanthe oenanthe
Oenanthe oenanthe#Translingual

especially, the northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)


whinchat

Saxicola rubetra
Saxicola rubetra#Translingual

A small Old World songbird, Saxicola rubetra, that feeds on insects.

haltsooítah dǫ́ʼiiyiyiitsahí bitéél diniltsxooígíí


stonechat

Any of various small Old World passerine birds of the genus Saxicola that feed on insects.


wittol

From Middle English witewold; likely a blend of witen (“to know”) + cockewold (“cuckold”), equivalent to wit + cuckold.

To see […] a wittol wink at his wife's honesty, and too perspicuous in all other affairs […]

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:

So the Ifrit cried at her, "Thou whorest and makest me a wittol with thine eyes;" and struck her so that her head went flying.

1885–1888, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, “Night 13”, in A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, now Entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night […], Shammar edition, volume (please specify the volume), [London]: […] Burton Club […], →OCLC:

God help the husband that obliges his wife's least whim: he'll be a wittol ere he's two years wed!

(archaic) A man who knows and tolerates his wife's infidelity with another man or men; a mari complaisant.

marit còmode

man who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity


whitewall

Jake had just installed a radar detector and four new whitewall tires.

1987, “The Case of the Wool's Worth”, in The Jewish Law Review: The Mishnah on damages:

The UniRoyal Tiger Pay Touring whitewall tire is not a performance tire, but it is totally acceptable for street use.

2007, George McNicholl, How to Rebuild Corvette Rolling Chassis 1963-1982:

I was shocked the other day when I Walmart that I could not find a whitewall tire for sale.

2015, Neal Murphy, East Texas Serendipity: Discovering Stories, History, and Tales from an East Texan’s Perspective:

A weird elongated creature with a whitewall haircut who had the big head as well as hands and fat thighs of the acromegalic, he was an uninhibited cross-dresser suffering from Gender Identity Disorder who constantly appeared in frocks.

2007, Alexander Theroux, Laura Warholic: Or, The Sexual Intellectual:

A blond kid with a whitewall haircut and long, thin sideburns came over to stand beside the kid with the wimpy Roman do.

With a whitewall crew cut, high and tight.

2016, Lee Child, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel:

(US, military) Describing a hair cut with a closely cropped back and sides and the hair on the top of the head left longer.


whitewall

She'd look two hun-erd percent better with the whitewalls...

Sales points you just have to snap on the whitewalls; they are easy to clean, can't scuff on curbs […]

Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac / Gangsta whitewalls

1974, “Be Thankful for What You Got”, in Be Thankful for What You Got, performed by William DeVaughn:

To clean whitewalls on tires, spray Easy-Off Oven Clearn on the whitewalls, wait two minutes, and then rince off with a high pressure hose.

2008, Joey Green, Joey Green's Fix-It Magic: More Than 1,971 Quick-and-Easy Household Solutions Using Brand-Name Products:

They owned two of the largest houses in town; and they drove the latest Chevrolets available, 1941 models, both cars still sporting whitewall tires, which meant that the man who said he hadn't seen a whitewall since Hector was a pup was perhaps stretching the truth.

2009, William Kloefkorn, Breathing in the Fullness of Time:

(US, military) A hair cut with a closely cropped back and sides and the hair on the top of the head left longer.


whitewall

White wall (Northants).

1885, Charles Swainson, Provincial Names and Folk Lore of British Birds, volume 32, Spotted flycatcher:

The beam-bird, Muscicapa grisola; the spotted flycatcher. Also whitewall, white-bird.

1903, The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia:

Wall bird, wall-plat, white base, whitewall.

1905, Alexander Robert Forbes, Gaelic Names of Beasts (Mammalia), Birds, Fishes, Insects, Reptiles, Etc:

(UK, dialect, Northamptonshire, rare) The spotted flycatcher.


philomel

A musical instrument similar to the violin, but having four steel-wire strings.


black redstart

Phoenicurus ochruros
Phoenicurus ochruros#Translingual

A small passerine bird, Phoenicurus ochruros, from south and central Europe


flycatcher

Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher

Any of many kinds of birds of the family Muscicapidae, of Africa, Europe, and Asia, that catch insects in flight; an Old World flycatcher.

New World flycatcher
New World flycatcher

Any of many kinds of similar birds of various families, such as Tyrannidae (the New World flycatchers of the Americas), Tityridae, Stenostiridae, Monarchidae, Petroicidae, etc.


redbreast

From Middle English redbreste, equivalent to red + breast.

There was a pleasant frosty sun glittering through the twigs of the leafless shrubs, and flashing on the ripples and undulations of the Liffey, and the redbreasts and sparrows were picking up the crumbs which the housekeeper had thrown for them outside.

1863, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “How a Gentleman Paid a Visit at the Brass Castle, and There Read a Paragraph in an Old Newspaper”, in The House by the Church-yard. […], volume III, London: Tinsley, Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 17:

I felt comforted by the song of the redbreast, and I thought I felt less lonely and deserted as long as I heard the merry notes of the thrush.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 281:

Any of several unrelated birds that have a red breast


common redstart

en-noun

common redstart (plural common redstarts)

Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Phoenicurus phoenicurus#Translingual

A small passerine bird (Phoenicurus phoenicurus).


European robin

A small passerine Old World bird; Erithacus rubecula.


common nightingale

common nightingale (plural common nightingales)


thrush nightingale

thrush nightingale (plural thrush nightingales)

Luscinia luscinia
Luscinia luscinia#Translingual

A small passerine bird of species Luscinia luscinia, related to the common nightingale.


shama

Copsychus malabaricus (white-rumped shama), a saxicoline songbird of India, glossy black with a white rump and brown underparts, and six other species in genus Copsychus.


bluetail

Either of two species of passerine bird in the genus Tarsiger.

some species are called солове́й m something


scrub robin

An Australian singing bird of the genus Drymodes.

Any of several African birds of the genus Cercotrichas.


wheater

It is particularly famous for its wheaters, a small bird, of the size of a lark, not much inferior to an ortolane, which is taken on the SE.

1801, John Walker, Arthur Kershaw, The Universal Gazetteer, page 19:

The people have plenty of patridges, woodcocks, snipes, thrushes, woodpigeons, turtle doves, wheaters, and poultry.

As less and less of the Downs is used as traditional pasture and more grassland is turned over to arable agriculture, the once-common wildlife species – the Adonis Blue and Chalkhill Blue butterflies, grasshoppers and the wheater bird, for example – are fast disappearing.

1987, The Geographical Magazine, page 572:


Old World flycatcher

Old World flycatcher (plural Old World flycatchers)

Any of various small birds of the passerine family Muscicapidae, of Africa and Eurasia; a muscicapid.


beambird

From beam + bird. So called as they often nest on a beam in a building.

(archaic) the spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata.


firetail

Any Australian finch of the genus Stagonopleura.


redtail

Buteo jamaicensis
Buteo jamaicensis#Translingual


rubythroat

ruby-throated hummingbird
ruby-throated hummingbird

Any of several species of birds, the males having a brilliant patch of metallic red on the throat.

A ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Calliope calliope
Calliope calliope#Translingual

A Siberian rubythroat (Calliope calliope) or white-tailed rubythroat (Calliope pectoralis),of genus Calliope (syn. Luscinia).

A ruby-throated bulbul (Rubigula dispar, syn. Pycnonotus dispar).


haybird

The European spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata).


forktail

Gallus varius
Gallus varius#Translingual


wallbird

From wall + bird, from its frequent choice of nesting site.

(UK, dialect, obsolete, Norfolk, Suffolk) A bird, the spotted flycatcher.


shortwing

A common name for the family Perilestidae, damselflies in the order Odonata.


furzechat

(archaic) the whinchat ( Saxicola rubetra).


bluebreast

A small European bird, the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica).


ruddock

From Middle English ruddocke, ruddok, roddok, from Old English rudduc, ruduc (“robin, ruddock”, literally “little red one, red-ling”), equivalent to rud (“redness”) + -ock (diminutive suffix). The Welsh rhuddog, and Cornish rudhek (“the redbreast”) are probably from the English, although a derivation from a British Celtic *roudākos (< *roudos "red") for all three cannot be ruled out. More at rud.

suffix

(obsolete) A variety of red apple, used for cidermaking.


muscicapid

(zoology) Any bird in the family Muscicapidae.


akalat

Any of several species of African birds in the genus Sheppardia.


Philomela

From Latin Philomela, from Ancient Greek Φιλομήλη (Philomḗlē), from φίλος (phílos, “love”) + μῆλον (mêlon, “apple; fruit; sheep”), but folk-etymologized since at least Ovid's time as "lover of song".


spotted flycatcher

en-noun

spotted flycatcher (plural spotted flycatchers)

A small passerine bird found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, Muscicapa striata.


blackstart

From black + start; in the sense of a bird, due to the analogy of redstart.

A bird (Oenanthe melanura) in the chat family, found in desert regions of the Middle East and North Africa.


blue rock thrush

blue rock thrush (plural blue rock thrushes)

Monticola solitarius
Monticola solitarius#Translingual

Monticola solitarius, a thrush-like flycatcher found in southern Europe, northern Africa and parts of Asia


common rock thrush

common rock thrush (plural common rock thrushes)

Monticola saxatilis
Monticola saxatilis#Translingual

Monticola saxatilis, a chat belonging to the family Muscicapidae.


rock thrush

(former name) common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis)


rufous-tailed rock thrush

rufous-tailed rock thrush (plural rufous-tailed rock thrushes)


bushchat

Any of a number of small insect-eating birds in the muscicapid genus Saxicola.

Any of several African birds in the genus Cercotrichas.


robin-chat

Any of a number of songbirds with robin-like breasts.


dagbreker

(South Africa) Any of the chats of South Africa.


Asian brown flycatcher

Asian brown flycatcher (plural Asian brown flycatchers)

Muscicapa dauurica
Muscicapa dauurica#Translingual

Muscicapa dauurica, an Asian flycatcher.


white-throated robin

white-throated robin (plural white-throated robins)

Irania gutturalis
Irania gutturalis#Translingual

Irania gutturalis, a flycatcher breeding in western Asia and overwinters in East Africa


Siberian rubythroat

Siberian rubythroat (plural Siberian rubythroats)

Calliope calliope, a flycatcher breeding in western Siberia and overwinters in South Asia.


red-flanked bluetail

red-flanked bluetail (plural red-flanked bluetails)

Tarsiger cyanurus
Tarsiger cyanurus#Translingual

Tarsiger cyanurus, an Old World flycatcher


taiga flycatcher

taiga flycatcher (plural taiga flycatchers)

Ficedula albicilla
Ficedula albicilla#Translingual

Ficedula albicilla, an Old World flycatcher breeding in Asia


red-breasted flycatcher

red-breasted flycatcher (plural red-breasted flycatchers)

Ficedula parva
Ficedula parva#Translingual

Ficedula parva, an Old World flycatcher breeding in eastern Europe and across Central Asia.


European pied flycatcher

European pied flycatcher (plural European pied flycatchers)

Ficedula hypoleuca
Ficedula hypoleuca#Translingual

Ficedula hypoleuca, an Old World flycatcher breeding in Europe and overwintering in Africa


collared flycatcher

collared flycatcher (plural collared flycatchers)

Ficedula albicollis
Ficedula albicollis#Translingual

Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher

Ficedula albicollis, an Old World flycatcher breeding in eastern Europe and across Central Asia, overwintering in Africa


European stonechat

European stonechat (plural European stonechats)

Saxicola rubicola
Saxicola rubicola#Translingual

Saxicola rubicola, an Old World flycatcher


Siberian stonechat

Siberian stonechat (plural Siberian stonechats)

Saxicola maurus
Saxicola maurus#Translingual

Saxicola maurus, an Old World flycatcher.


pied bushchat

Saxicola caprata
Saxicola caprata#Translingual


northern wheatear

northern wheatear (plural northern wheatears)

There are northern wheatears close to the stream, easy-to-spot males with their rust-tinged breasts and a smart black stripe through the eye.

2020, Tim Ecott, The Land of Maybe, Short Books, published 2021, page 46:

Oenanthe oenanthe
Oenanthe oenanthe#Translingual

Oenanthe oenanthe, an Old World flycatcher.


isabelline wheatear

isabelline wheatear (plural isabelline wheatears)

Oenanthe isabellina
Oenanthe isabellina#Translingual

Oenanthe isabellina, an Old World flycatcher native to Asia


desert wheatear

desert wheatear (plural desert wheatears)

Oenanthe deserti
Oenanthe deserti#Translingual

Oenanthe deserti, an Old World flycatcher native to Asia and northern Africa


pied wheatear

Oenanthe pleschanka
Oenanthe pleschanka#Translingual

Oenanthe pleschanka, an Old World flycatcher native to Asia


western black-eared wheatear

western black-eared wheatear (plural western black-eared wheatears)

Oenanthe hispanica
Oenanthe hispanica#Translingual

Oenanthe hispanica, an Old World flycatcher native to the Mediterranean and Caucasus


European spotted flycatcher

European spotted flycatcher (plural European spotted flycatchers)

spotted flycatcher
spotted flycatcher#English


rufous bush chat

rufous bush chat (plural rufous bush chats)

Cercotrichas galactotes
Cercotrichas galactotes#Translingual

rufous-tailed scrub robin
rufous-tailed scrub robin

Cercotrichas galactotes, a species of bird. Also called rufous-tailed scrub robin, rufous scrub robin, rufous bush robin, rufous warbler


rufous-tailed scrub robin

rufous-tailed scrub robin (plural rufous-tailed scrub robins)

Cercotrichas galactotes, a species of bird. Also called rufous scrub robin, rufous bush robin, rufous warbler, rufous bush chat


rufous warbler

Cercotrichas galactotes, a species of bird. Also called rufous-tailed scrub robin, rufous scrub robin, rufous bush robin, rufous bush chat


rufous bush robin

rufous bush robin (plural rufous bush robins)

Cercotrichas galactotes, a species of bird. Also called rufous-tailed scrub robin, rufous scrub robin, rufous warbler, rufous bush chat


rufous scrub robin

rufous scrub robin (plural rufous scrub robins)

Cercotrichas galactotes, a species of bird. Also called rufous-tailed scrub robin, rufous bush robin, rufous warbler, rufous bush chat


Japanese robin

red-billed leiothrix
red-billed leiothrix

Pekin robin or red-billed leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea), a small passerine bird native to China and Vietnam, and introduced in Japan.


green-backed flycatcher

green-backed flycatcher (plural green-backed flycatchers)

Ficedula elisae, a species of perching bird.


Atlas pied flycatcher

Atlas pied flycatcher (plural Atlas pied flycatchers)

From the Atlas Mountains where it is most common.

A bird of species Ficedula speculigera, of family Muscicapidae of Old World flycatchers.


Atlas wheatear

A wheatear of species Oenanthe seebohmi, a perching bird native to northern Africa.


Natal robin

Cossypha natalensis
Cossypha natalensis#Translingual

red-capped robin-chat (Cossypha natalensis)


tit-flycatcher

Any of various birds in the genus Myioparus.


silverbird

A bird of the species Empidornis semipartitus, native to eastern Africa.


magpie-robin

Any of various medium-sized birds of the genus Copsychus, found in Africa and Asia.


true flycatcher

true flycatcher (plural true flycatchers)


forest robin

Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher#English

Stiphrornis erythrothorax, a species of Old World flycatcher.


rock chat

brown-tailed rock chat
brown-tailed rock chat

brown-tailed rock chat, Oenanthe scotocerca

any of a number of species of wheatear
sombre rock chat, Oenanthe dubia

any of a number of species of wheatear
brown rock chat, Oenanthe fusca


brown-tailed rock chat

brown-tailed rock chat (plural brown-tailed rock chats)

red-tailed chat[…] Distinguishing characters: Very similar to the Brown-tailed Rock-Chat, but tail chestnut with central tail feathers and tips of the others blackish brown.

1952, C.W. Mackworth-Praed, C.H.B. Grant, Birds of Eastern and North Eastern Africa, page 274:

A bird species, Oenanthe scotocerca, found in parts of Africa from Chad to Ethiopia


sombre rock chat

sombre rock chat (plural sombre rock chats)

Djibouti[…] At least one Sombre Rock Chat Cercomela dubia was photographed there on 25th; this appears to be the first record for the country.

2011 March, “Recent reports”, in Bulletin of the African Bird Club, volume 18, page 96:

A bird species, Oenanthe dubia, found in Ethiopia and Somalia


brown rock chat

brown rock chat (plural brown rock chats)

From the housetops the brown rock-chat begins to pour forth his exceedingly sweet lay.

1916, Douglas Dewar, A Bird Calendar for Northern India, page 35:

Finally, it was this early-riser’s vivid avian call—melodious songs with multiple notes like those of a thrush—which left us spellbound.[…] Hence, we were compelled to rediscover this special guest—the quintessential Brown Rock Chat or, simply, the Indian Chat.

2022 August, Gargi Mishra, “A chatting rockstar”, in Gobar Times, page 3:

A bird species, Oenanthe fusca, found in northern and central India