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buzzard

 - 5 dictionary results

buz⋅zard

1  [buhz-erd]
Use buzzard in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several broad-winged, soaring hawks of the genus Buteo and allied genera, esp. B. buteo, of Europe.
2. any of several New World vultures of the family Cathartidae, esp. the turkey vulture.
3. Slang. a contemptible or cantankerous person (often prec. by old): That old buzzard has lived in the same shack for twenty years.
–adjective
4. Obsolete. senseless; stupid.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME busard < OF, var. of buisard, equiv. to buis(on) buzzard (< L būteōn-, s. of būteō kind of hawk) + -ard -ard

Related forms:
buz⋅zard⋅like, adjective
buz⋅zard⋅ly, adjective, adverb

buz⋅zard

2  [buhz-erd]
–noun British Dialect.
any of various nocturnal buzzing insects, as cockchafers.
Origin:
1645–55; buzz 1 + -ard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To buzzard
buz·zard   (bŭz'ərd)   
n.  

  1. Any of various North American vultures, such as the turkey vulture.

  2. Chiefly British A hawk of the genus Buteo, having broad wings and a broad tail.

  3. An avaricious or otherwise unpleasant person.


[Middle English busard, hawk of the genus Buteo, from Old French, from Latin būteō.]
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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Slang Dictionary
buzzard

  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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Word Origin & History

buzzard 
c.1300, from O.Fr. buisart "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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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