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bittern - 8 dictionary results

bit⋅tern

1  [bit-ern]
Use bittern in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several tawny brown herons that inhabit reedy marshes, as Botaurus lentiginosus (American bittern), of North America, and B. stellaris, of Europe.
2. any of several small herons of the genus Ixobrychus, as I. exilis (least bittern), of temperate and tropical North and South America.
Origin:
1510–20; bitter, bittor bittern + -n (perh. by assoc. with heron ), ME bito(u)r, butur, boto(u)r < AF bytore, AF, OF butor < VL *būtitaurus, equiv. to *būti-, perh. to be identified with L būteō a species of hawk (see buteo ) + L taurus bull (cited by Pliny as a name for a bird emitting a bellowing sound)

bit⋅tern

2  [bit-ern]
–noun Chemistry.
a bitter solution remaining in salt making after the salt has crystallized out of seawater or brine, used as a source of bromides, iodides, and certain other salts.
Origin:
1675–85; var. of bittering; see bitter, -ing 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bittern
bit·tern 1   (bĭt'ərn)   
n.  Any of several wading birds of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus, having mottled brownish plumage and a deep booming cry in the male.

[Alteration (perhaps influenced by tern1) of Middle English bitour, from Old French butor, possibly from Vulgar Latin *buti-taurus : Latin būtiō, buzzard + Latin taurus, bull (after its cry); see tauro- in Indo-European roots.]
bit·tern 2   (bĭt'ərn)   
n.  The bitter water solution of bromides, magnesium, and calcium salts remaining after sodium chloride is crystallized out of seawater.

[From bitter.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bittern

Bit"tern\, n. [OE. bitoure, betore, bitter, fr. F. butor; of unknown origin.] (Zo["o]l.) A wading bird of the genus Botaurus, allied to the herons, of various species.

Note: The common European bittern is Botaurus stellaris. It makes, during the brooding season, a noise called by Dryden bumping, and by Goldsmith booming. The American bittern is B. lentiginosus, and is also called stake-driver and meadow hen. See Stake-driver.

Note: The name is applied to other related birds, as the least bittern (Ardetta exilis), and the sun bittern.

Bittern

Bit"tern\, n. [From Bitter, a.]

1. The brine which remains in salt works after the salt is concreted, having a bitter taste from the chloride of magnesium which it contains.

2. A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus Indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer. --Cooley.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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bittern 
13c., botor, from O.Fr. butor, from Gallo-Romance *butitaurus, from L. butionem "bittern" + taurus "bull" (see steer (n.)); according to Pliny, so called because of its booming voice, but this seems fanciful.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bittern

is found three times in connection with the desolations to come upon Babylon, Idumea, and Nineveh (Isa. 14:23; 34:11; Zeph. 2:14). This bird belongs to the class of cranes. Its scientific name is Botaurus stellaris. It is a solitary bird, frequenting marshy ground. The Hebrew word (kippod) thus rendered in the Authorized Version is rendered "porcupine" in the Revised Version. But in the passages noted the kippod is associated with birds, with pools of water, and with solitude and desolation. This favours the idea that not the "porcupine" but the "bittern" is really intended by the word.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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