petrel
5 dictionary results for: Petrel
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pet·rel 
[pe-truhl] Pronunciation Key
[pe-truhl] Pronunciation Key –noun
| any of numerous tube-nosed seabirds of the families Procellariidae, Hydrobatidae, and Pelecanoididae. |
Compare storm petrel, diving petrel.
[Origin: 1670–80; earlier pitteral, of uncert. orig.; perh. altered by assoc. with St. Peter (who attempted to walk on the water of Lake Gennesareth), alluding to the bird's habit of flying close to the ocean surface]
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| pet·rel
(pět'rəl) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of numerous black, gray, or white sea birds of the order Procellariiformes, especially the storm petrel. [Perhaps alteration of earlier pitteral (perhaps influenced by Saint Peter walking on the water, from the fact that the bird flies so close to the water as to appear to be walking on it).] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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
petrel
petrel
1676, pitteral, modern spelling first recorded 1703 by Dampier, who says the bird was so called from its way of flying with its feet just skimming the surface of the water, which recalls the apostle's walk on the sea of Galilee (Matt. xiv:28); if so, it likely was formed in Eng. as a dim. of Peter (L.L. Petrus). If this is folk-etymology, the true source of the name is undiscovered. Fr. pétrel (1760) probably is from Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| petrel | |
noun | |
| relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from land |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Petrel
Par"rot\, n. [Prob. fr. F. Pierrot, dim. of Pierre Peter. F. pierrot is also the name of the sparrow. Cf. Paroquet, Petrel, Petrify.]1. (Zo["o]l.) In a general sense, any bird of the order Psittaci. 2. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of Psittacus, Chrysotis, Pionus, and other genera of the family Psittacid[ae], as distinguished from the parrakeets, macaws, and lories. They have a short rounded or even tail, and often a naked space on the cheeks. The gray parrot, or jako (P. erithacus) of Africa (see Jako), and the species of Amazon, or green, parrots (Chrysotis) of America, are examples. Many species, as cage birds, readily learn to imitate sounds, and to repeat words and phrases. Carolina parrot (Zo["o]l.), the Carolina parrakeet. See Parrakeet. Night parrot, or Owl parrot. (Zo["o]l.) See Kakapo. Parrot coal, cannel coal; -- so called from the crackling and chattering sound it makes in burning. [Eng. & Scot.] Parrot green. (Chem.) See Scheele's green, under Green, n. Parrot weed (Bot.), a suffrutescent plant (Bocconia frutescens) of the Poppy family, native of the warmer parts of America. It has very large, sinuate, pinnatifid leaves, and small, panicled, apetalous flowers. Parrot wrasse, Parrot fish (Zo["o]l.), any fish of the genus Scarus. One species (S. Cretensis), found in the Mediterranean, is esteemed by epicures, and was highly prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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