Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A kind of bird. See mina and Eulabes.
  • noun [capitalized] A genus of birds: same as Eulabes.
  • noun Also Mainatus

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Beyond Homat he could see two of Tsla'maina's four moons gleaming on the river.

    Voyage To The City Of The Dead Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 1984

  • Fat [2], russet-hued ringdoves, the modest honey-bird, corn quails, canary-coloured finches, sparrows gay as those of Surinam, humming-birds with a plume of metallic lustre, and especially a white-eyed kind of maina, called by the Somal, Shimbir Load or the cow-bird.

    First Footsteps in East Africa Richard Francis Burton 1855

  • By contrast, the maina, its black water a portal between worlds, feels exhilaratingly real.

    Beneath the Ice 2008

  • When one finally ascends back up through the ice hole, or maina, one literally ascends into light.

    Beneath the Ice 2008

  • The maina, or ice hole, is above, and the rope allows the attendant on the surface to pull out the diver in an emergency.

    The Arctic Life 2008

  • But then a heavy snow fell, and when we went to the maina, the water seemed to have risen, forming a puddle on the ice.

    Beneath the Ice 2008

  • In such cases the girl “should bring him to her house under the pretence of seeing the fights of quails, cocks and rams, of hearing the maina (a kind of starling) talk .... she should also amuse him for a long time by telling him such stories and doing such things as he may take most delight in.”

    The Life of Sir Richard Burton 2003

  • There were so many of us that "Aina-maina-mona-mike" would not go quite round; but, with that promptness of expedience which belongs to genius, Billy instantly added on, "Intery-mintery-cutery-corn," and the last word of the cabalistic formula fell upon me -- Edward Balbus.

    Humorous Masterpieces from American Literature Various

  • There were so many of us that "Aina-maina-mona-mike" would not go quite around; but with that promptness of expedient which belongs to genius, Billy instantly added on "Intery-mintery-cutery-corn," and the last word of the cabalistic formula fell upon me, Edward Balbus.

    A Brace Of Boys 1867, From "Little Brother" Fitz Hugh Ludlow

  • There were so many of us that "Aina maina mona mike" would not go quite round; but, with that promptness of expedient which belongs to genius, Billy instantly added on, "Intery-mintery-cutery-corn," and the last word of the cabalistic formula fell upon me -- Edward Balbus.

    Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor Thomas L. Masson 1900

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  • a Java sparrow

    August 16, 2008