Plover - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: Plover

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

plov·er

Audio Help [pluhv-er, ploh-ver] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	any of various shorebirds of the family Charadriidae. Compare dotterel (def. 1), killdeer, lapwing.

2.	any of various similar shorebirds, as the upland plover and other sandpipers.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME < AF; OF plovier rainbird < VL *pluviārius. See pluvial, -er²

]

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

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Plover

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

plov·er Audio Help (plŭv'ər, plō'vər) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. plover or plov·ers

Any of various widely distributed wading birds of the family Charadriidae, having rounded bodies, short tails, and short bills.
Any of various similar or related birds.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Vulgar Latin *pluviārius, from Latin pluvia, rain; see pluvial.]

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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.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
plover

1304, from Anglo-Fr. plover, O.Fr. pluvier, earlier plovier (c.1200), from V.L. *plovarius, lit. "belonging to rain," from L. pluvia "rain." Perhaps so called because the birds' migration arrival coincides with the start of the rainy season, or from its supposed restlessness when rain approaches.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

plover
noun
any of numerous chiefly shorebirds of relatively compact build having straight bills and large pointed wings; closely related to the sandpipers

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Plover, IA (city, FIPS 63840) Location: 42.87710 N, 94.62242 W
Population (1990): 101 (49 housing units)
Area: 1.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 50573

Plover, WI (village, FIPS 63525) Location: 44.46260 N, 89.54295 W
Population (1990): 8176 (2978 housing units)
Area: 20.3 sq km (land), 0.8 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 54467

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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

Plover

Bee"tle*head`\, n. [Beetle a mallet + head.]

1. A stupid fellow; a blockhead. --Sir W. Scott.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The black-bellied plover, or bullhead (Squatarola helvetica). See Plover.

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