"catbird" meaning in English

See catbird in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈkatbɜːd/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈkatbɝd/ [General-American] Forms: catbirds [plural], cat bird [alternative]
Etymology: From cat + bird, because its cry is said to resemble that of a cat. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|cat|bird}} cat + bird Head templates: {{en-noun}} catbird (plural catbirds)
  1. An American passerine bird of the genera Dumetella and Melanoptila.
    Sense id: en-catbird-en-noun-FQibDquk Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Mimids, Perching birds Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 43 39 18 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 38 38 25 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 35 38 27 Disambiguation of Mimids: 29 38 33 Disambiguation of Perching birds: 33 35 33
  2. Any of four species of Australasian bowerbirds of the genera Ailuroedus and Scenopoeetes.
    Sense id: en-catbird-en-noun-MmRG-RXS Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Mimids, Perching birds Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 43 39 18 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 38 38 25 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 35 38 27 Disambiguation of Mimids: 29 38 33 Disambiguation of Perching birds: 33 35 33
  3. A babbler-like bird from eastern Africa, Parophasma galinieri.
    Sense id: en-catbird-en-noun-ZeB2ZXOL Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Mimids, Perching birds Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 43 39 18 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 38 38 25 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 35 38 27 Disambiguation of Mimids: 29 38 33 Disambiguation of Perching birds: 33 35 33
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: catbird grape, catbird seat, gray catbird Related terms: Dumetella carolinensis, Melanoptila glabrirostris, Ailuroedus, Scenopoeetes, Parophasma galinieri

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "catbird grape"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "catbird seat"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "gray catbird"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cat",
        "3": "bird"
      },
      "expansion": "cat + bird",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From cat + bird, because its cry is said to resemble that of a cat.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "catbirds",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cat bird",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "catbird (plural catbirds)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "Dumetella carolinensis"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "Melanoptila glabrirostris"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "Ailuroedus"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "Scenopoeetes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "Parophasma galinieri"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "43 39 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 38 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 38 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 38 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mimids",
          "orig": "en:Mimids",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 35 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Perching birds",
          "orig": "en:Perching birds",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              11
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1832, Sharon Turner, The Sacred History of the World:",
          "text": "The catbird’s note exactly resembles the voice of a kitten, that a stranger to it would instantly conclude that such an animal \"had got bewildered in the branches\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              18
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1967, William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Vintage, published 2004, page 200:",
          "text": "I recall a catbird high in the water oak above, swinging like a rag amid the branches, jabbering and screeching [...].",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An American passerine bird of the genera Dumetella and Melanoptila."
      ],
      "id": "en-catbird-en-noun-FQibDquk",
      "links": [
        [
          "American",
          "American"
        ],
        [
          "passerine",
          "passerine"
        ],
        [
          "genera",
          "genus"
        ],
        [
          "Dumetella",
          "Dumetella#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "Melanoptila",
          "Melanoptila#Translingual"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "43 39 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 38 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 38 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 38 33",
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          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mimids",
          "orig": "en:Mimids",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 35 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Perching birds",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 185:",
          "text": "The cat bird had a forlorn cry, like a whimpering child or the animal it is named for.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any of four species of Australasian bowerbirds of the genera Ailuroedus and Scenopoeetes."
      ],
      "id": "en-catbird-en-noun-MmRG-RXS",
      "links": [
        [
          "Australasia",
          "Australasia"
        ],
        [
          "bowerbird",
          "bowerbird"
        ],
        [
          "Ailuroedus",
          "Ailuroedus#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "Scenopoeetes",
          "Scenopoeetes#Translingual"
        ]
      ]
    },
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      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "43 39 18",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
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          "name": "Perching birds",
          "orig": "en:Perching birds",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A babbler-like bird from eastern Africa, Parophasma galinieri."
      ],
      "id": "en-catbird-en-noun-ZeB2ZXOL",
      "links": [
        [
          "babbler",
          "babbler"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkatbɜːd/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkatbɝd/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "catbird"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Mimids",
    "en:Perching birds"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "catbird grape"
    },
    {
      "word": "catbird seat"
    },
    {
      "word": "gray catbird"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cat",
        "3": "bird"
      },
      "expansion": "cat + bird",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From cat + bird, because its cry is said to resemble that of a cat.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "catbirds",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cat bird",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "catbird (plural catbirds)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Dumetella carolinensis"
    },
    {
      "word": "Melanoptila glabrirostris"
    },
    {
      "word": "Ailuroedus"
    },
    {
      "word": "Scenopoeetes"
    },
    {
      "word": "Parophasma galinieri"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              11
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1832, Sharon Turner, The Sacred History of the World:",
          "text": "The catbird’s note exactly resembles the voice of a kitten, that a stranger to it would instantly conclude that such an animal \"had got bewildered in the branches\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              18
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1967, William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Vintage, published 2004, page 200:",
          "text": "I recall a catbird high in the water oak above, swinging like a rag amid the branches, jabbering and screeching [...].",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An American passerine bird of the genera Dumetella and Melanoptila."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "American",
          "American"
        ],
        [
          "passerine",
          "passerine"
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        [
          "genera",
          "genus"
        ],
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          "Dumetella",
          "Dumetella#Translingual"
        ],
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          "Melanoptila",
          "Melanoptila#Translingual"
        ]
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      ],
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              4,
              12
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          ],
          "ref": "1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 185:",
          "text": "The cat bird had a forlorn cry, like a whimpering child or the animal it is named for.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any of four species of Australasian bowerbirds of the genera Ailuroedus and Scenopoeetes."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Australasia",
          "Australasia"
        ],
        [
          "bowerbird",
          "bowerbird"
        ],
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          "Ailuroedus",
          "Ailuroedus#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "Scenopoeetes",
          "Scenopoeetes#Translingual"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A babbler-like bird from eastern Africa, Parophasma galinieri."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "babbler",
          "babbler"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkatbɜːd/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkatbɝd/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "catbird"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-19 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (d1270d2 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.