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woodpecker

 - 3 dictionary results

wood⋅peck⋅er

[wood-pek-er]
–noun
any of numerous climbing birds of the family Picidae, having a hard, chisellike bill that it hammers repeatedly into wood in search of insects, stiff tail feathers to assist in climbing, and usually more or less boldly patterned plumage.

Origin:
1520–30; wood 1 + pecker
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wood·peck·er   (wŏŏd'pěk'ər)   
n.  Any of various usually brightly colored birds of the family Picidae, having strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for clinging to and climbing trees and a chisellike bill for drilling through bark and wood. Also called regionally peckerwood.
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

woodpecker 
1530, from wood (n.) + pecker (see peck (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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