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goatsucker

 - 4 dictionary results
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goat⋅suck⋅er

  [goht-suhk-er]
Use goatsucker in a Sentence
–noun
nightjar (def. 2).
Origin:
1605–15; so called because formerly believed to suck the milk of goats; trans. of L caprimulgus, itself trans. of Gk aigothlas
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night⋅jar

  [nahyt-jahr]
–noun
1. a nocturnal European bird, Caprimulgus europaeus, of the family Caprimulgidae, having a short bill and a wide mouth and feeding on insects captured in the air.
2. Also called goatsucker. any other nocturnal or crepuscular bird of the family Caprimulgidae.
Origin:
1620–30; night + jar 2 (from its harsh cry)
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To goatsucker
goat·suck·er   (gōt'sŭk'ər)   
n.  Any of various chiefly nocturnal, insectivorous birds of the family Caprimulgidae, which includes the nighthawk and the whippoorwill.

[Translation of Greek aigothēlas : aigo-, goat + -thēlas, sucker (from the belief that the bird sucked milk from goats).]
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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Word Origin & History

nightjar 
nocturnal bird, goatsucker, 1630, from night + jar (v.). So called for the "jarring" sounds made by the male when the female is brooding, which have been described as a "churring trill that seems to change direction as it rises and falls."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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