Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An inflamed, tender swelling of a lymph node, especially in the area of the armpit or groin, that is characteristic of certain infectious diseases, such as bubonic plague, tuberculosis, and syphilis.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In medicine, an inflammatory swelling of a lymphatic gland, especially such as arises in the groin from venereal infection.
  • noun A genus of large owls with conspicuous plumicorns, relatively small ear-aperture, incomplete facial disk, and feathered feet.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) An inflammation, with enlargement, of a lymphatic gland, esp. in the groin, as in syphilis.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pathology An inflamed swelling of a lymph node, especially in the armpit or the groin, due to an infection such as bubonic plague, gonorrhea, tuberculosis or syphilis.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a lymph node that is inflamed and swollen because of plague or gonorrhea or tuberculosis
  • noun a genus of Strigidae

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Late Latin būbō, būbōn-, from Greek boubōn, groin, swelling.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Medieval Latin būbō, from Ancient Greek βουβών (boubōn, "groin, swelling").

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Examples

  • The swollen gland is called a "bubo" (hence the term "bubonic plague").

    Plague 2008

  • Uhu for eagle owls (they ‘makin this sound, look at the latin name bubo bubo: D)

    Or a hair dryer in the tub. 2009

  • Upon closer observation, the residents see the bubo on his neck.

    Horrors Prices | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • There are substantial numbers of Nubian bustard, Neotis nuba, and eagle owl Bubo bubo.

    Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves, Niger 2008

  • The avifauna includes black stork Ciconia nigra, white stork Ciconia ciconia, golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, greater spotted eagle A. clanga (VU), white-tailed eagle Haliaetus albicilla, great snipe Gallinaga media, corncrake Crex crex, eagle owl Bubo bubo. great grey owl Strix nebulosa and Eurasian curlew Numenius arquata.

    Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, Belarus 2009

  • The area is faunistically rich, including European brown bear Ursus arctos, wolf Canis lupus, European otter Lutra lutra, wild cat Felis silvestris, eagle owl Bubo bubo, and capercaillie Tetra urogallus.

    Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia 2008

  • Patterns of bird bone fragmentary in pellets of the Tawny owl (Strix aluco) and the Eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and their taphonomic implications.

    Archive 2006-02-01 Darren Naish 2006

  • While at his house I noticed that the February edition of Bird Watching magazine – which I often look at in the shops but never buy – includes an article by Adrian Thomas on Eagle owls Bubo bubo in Britain.

    Archive 2006-06-01 Darren Naish 2006

  • Among the 102 species of birds are spotted eagle Aquila clanga (VU), golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, hazel grouse Bonasa bonasia, eagle owl Bubo bubo, black woodpecker Dryocopus martius, three-toed woodpecker Picoides trydactilus and Alpine chough Pyrrhocorax graculus.

    Pirin National Park, Bulgaria 2008

  • Interesting marsh birds found in the reclaimed areas include egrets Egretta alba, E. garzetta and E. intermedia, purple heron Ardea purpurea (a rare vagrant from Africa) and green-backed heron Butorides striatus, while birds of prey include osprey Pandion haliaetus, Pallas's sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus (R), white-bellied sea-eagle H. leucogaster, grey-headed fishing eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus, Oriential hobby F. severus, northern eagle owl Bubo bubo and brown fish owl Ketupa zeylonensis.

    Sundarbans National Park, India 2008

Comments

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  • I first encountered this word while reading Candide in high school.

    December 13, 2006