buzzard

[buhz-erd] Origin

buz·zard

1[buhz-erd]
noun
1.
any of several broad-winged, soaring hawks of the genus Buteo and allied genera, especially B. buteo, of Europe.
2.
any of several New World vultures of the family Cathartidae, especially the turkey vulture.
3.
Slang. a contemptible or cantankerous person (often preceded by old): That old buzzard has lived in the same shack for twenty years.
adjective
4.
Obsolete. senseless; stupid.

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Buzzard is always a great word to know.
So is ream. Does it mean:
having a pleasantly plump figure
to scold or reprimand severely, to cheat or defraud

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English busard < Old French, variant of buisard, equivalent to buis(on) buzzard (< Latin būteōn-, stem of būteō kind of hawk) + -ard -ard

buz·zard·like, adjective
buz·zard·ly, adjective, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged

buz·zard

2[buhz-erd]
noun British Dialect.
any of various nocturnal buzzing insects, as cockchafers.

Origin:
1645–55; buzz1 + -ard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
buzzard (ˈbʌzəd)
 
n
1.  honey buzzard Compare turkey buzzard any diurnal bird of prey of the genus Buteo, typically having broad wings and tail and a soaring flight: family Accipitridae (hawks, etc)
2.  a mean or cantankerous person
 
[C13: from Old French buisard, variant of buison buzzard, from Latin būteō hawk, falcon]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

buzzard
c.1300, from O.Fr. buisart "buzzard, harrier, inferior hawk," from buson, buison, from L. buteonem, acc. of buteo a kind of hawk, perhaps with -art suffix for one that carries on some action or possesses some quality, with derogatory connotation (see -ard).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

buzzard definition


  1. n.
    an old man; a mean old man. (Especially with old.) : Some old buzzard is at the door asking for Mary Wilson.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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