Ostrich - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: Ostrich

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

os·trich

Audio Help [aw-strich, os-trich] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a large, two-toed, swift-footed flightless bird, Struthio camelus, indigenous to Africa and Arabia, domesticated for its plumage: the largest of living birds.

2.	(not used scientifically) a rhea.

3.	a person who attempts to ignore unpleasant facts or situations.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME ostrice, ostriche < OF ostrusce (cf. F autruche) < VL *avistrūthius, for L avis bird + LL strūthiō < LGk strouthíōn; see struthious

]

—Related forms

os·trich·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ostrich

To learn more about Ostrich visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

os·trich Audio Help (ŏs'trĭch, ôs'-) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. ostrich or os·trich·es

1. A large, swift-running flightless bird (Struthio camelus) of Africa, characterized by a long bare neck, small head, and two-toed feet. It is the largest living bird.
2. A rhea.
One who tries to avoid disagreeable situations by refusing to face them.

[Middle English, from Old French ostrusce, ostrice and Medieval Latin ostrica, both from Vulgar Latin *avis strūthiō : Latin avis, bird; see awi- in Indo-European roots + Late Latin strūthiō, ostrich; see struthious.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ostrich

c.1225, from O.Fr. ostruce (Fr. autruche), from V.L. avis struthio, from L. avis "bird" (from PIE *awi- "bird") + L.L. struthio "ostrich," from Gk. strouthion "ostrich," from strouthos melage "big sparrow." The Greeks also knew the bird as strouthokamelos "camel-sparrow," for its long neck. Among its proverbial peculiarities are indiscriminate voracity (especially a habit of swallowing iron and stone to aid digestion), want of regard for its eggs, and a tendency to hide its head in the sand when pursued.

"Like the Austridge, who hiding her little head, supposeth her great body obscured." [1623]

Ostriches do put their heads in the sand, but ostrich farmers say they do this in search of something to eat.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ostrich
noun
1.	a person who refuses to face reality or recognize the truth (a reference to the popular notion that the ostrich hides from danger by burying its head in the sand)
2.	fast-running African flightless bird with two-toed feet; largest living bird

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ostrich [ˈostritʃ] noun

a type of large bird which cannot fly

Arabic:	نَعامَه، ظَليم
Chinese (Simplified):	鸵鸟
Chinese (Traditional):	鴕鳥
Czech:	pštros
Danish:	struds
Dutch:	struisvogel
Estonian:	jaanalind
Finnish:	strutsi
French:	autruche
German:	der Strauß
Greek:	στρουθοκάμηλος
Hungarian:	strucc
Icelandic:	strútur
Indonesian:	burung unta
Italian:	struzzo

Japanese:	だちょう
Korean:	타조
Latvian:	strauss
Lithuanian:	strutis
Norwegian:	struts
Polish:	struś
Portuguese (Brazil):	avestruz
Portuguese (Portugal):	avestruz
Romanian:	struţ
Russian:	страус
Slovak:	pštros
Slovenian:	noj
Spanish:	avestruz
Swedish:	struts
Turkish:	devekuşu

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ostrich

Os"trich\, n. [OE. ostriche, ostrice, OF. ostruche, ostruce, F. autruche, L. avis struthio; avis bird + struthio ostrich, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? bird, sparrow. Cf. Aviary, Struthious.] [Formerly written also estrich.] (Zo["o]l.) A large bird of the genus Struthio, of which Struthio camelus of Africa is the best known species. It has long and very strong legs, adapted for rapid running; only two toes; a long neck, nearly bare of feathers; and short wings incapable of flight. The adult male is about eight feet high.

Note: The South African ostrich (Struthio australis) and the Asiatic ostrich are considered distinct species by some authors. Ostriches are now domesticated in South Africa in large numbers for the sake of their plumes. The body of the male is covered with elegant black plumose feathers, while the wings and tail furnish the most valuable white plumes.

Ostrich farm, a farm on which ostriches are bred for the sake of their feathers, oil, eggs, etc.

Ostrich farming, the occupation of breeding ostriches for the sake of their feathers, etc.

Ostrich fern (Bot.) a kind of fern (Onoclea Struthiopteris), the tall fronds of which grow in a circle from the rootstock. It is found in alluvial soil in Europe and North America.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ostrich

(Lam. 4:3), the rendering of Hebrew pl. enim; so called from its greediness and gluttony. The allusion here is to the habit of the ostrich with reference to its eggs, which is thus described: "The outer layer of eggs is generally so ill covered that they are destroyed in quantities by jackals, wild-cats, etc., and that the natives carry them away, only taking care not to leave the marks of their footsteps, since, when the ostrich comes and finds that her nest is discovered, she crushes the whole brood, and builds a nest elsewhere." In Job 39:13 this word in the Authorized Version is the rendering of a Hebrew word (notsah) which means "feathers," as in the Revised Version. In the same verse the word "peacocks" of the Authorized Version is the rendering of the Hebrew pl. renanim, properly meaning "ostriches," as in the Revised Version. (See OWL ØT0002815 [1].)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ostrich

ostrich: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

Browse Nearby Entries: