godwit

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English

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Godwit

Etymology

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Origin unknown. A surface analysis would suggest Old English *gōdwiht as the term's ultimate origin, corresponding to good +‎ wight (“creature”), but the term is attested only since late Middle English.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary considers the term to probably have originally been imitative of the bird's call.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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godwit (plural godwits)

  1. Any of four species of long-billed migratory wading birds in the genus Limosa, of the family Scolopacidae.
    • c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist:
      My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Derived terms

Translations

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “godwit, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022.
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