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noun
1.
any of numerous predaceous oscine birds of the family Laniidae, having a strong, hooked, and toothed bill, feeding on insects and sometimes on small birds and other animals: the members of certain species impale their prey on thorns or suspend it from the branches of trees to tear it apart more easily, and are said to kill more than is necessary for them to eat.
2.
any of several other birds having similar bills, as the vanga shrikes.
3.
(initial capital letter) Military. a 10-foot (3-meter), 400-pound (180-kg) U.S. air-to-ground missile designed to destroy missile batteries by homing in on their radar emissions.
Origin:
1535–45; perhaps continuing Old English scrīc thrush; akin to Old Norse skrīkja to twitter; see shriek
1535–45; perhaps continuing Old English scrīc thrush; akin to Old Norse skrīkja to twitter; see shriek
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Shrike
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| shrike (ʃraɪk) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | See also bush shrike Also called: butcherbird any songbird of the chiefly Old World family Laniidae, having a heavy hooked bill and feeding on smaller animals which they sometimes impale on thorns, barbed wire, etc |
| 2. | any of various similar but unrelated birds, such as the cuckoo shrikes |
| 3. | shrike thrush, shrike tit another name for thickhead |
| [Old English scrīc thrush; related to Middle Dutch schrīk corncrake; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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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
shrike
O.E. scric "thrush," lit. "bird with a shrill call," probably echoic of its cry and related to shriek (cf. O.N. skrikja "shrieker, shrike").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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