Definitions

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

  • noun Any of various starlings found in South and Southeast Asia and on some islands of the South Pacific, most of which are bluish-black or dark brown with a yellow bill. Certain species, especially the hill myna, are known for mimicry of human speech.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See mina.

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

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of Asiatic starlings of the genera Acridotheres, Sturnopastor, Sturnia, Gracula, and allied genera. In habits they resemble the European starlings, and like them are often caged and taught to talk. See Hill myna, under hill, and mino bird.

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

  • noun Any of several Asian starlings of the family Sturnidae

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

  • noun tropical Asian starlings

Etymologies

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

[Hindi mainā, perhaps from Sanskrit madanaḥ, from madana-, delightful, joyful, from madati, it bubbles.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Hindi & Urdu मैना (mainā), from Sanskrit मदन (madana)

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word myna.

Examples

  • The myna is a bird considerably smaller than a crow.

    Birds of the Indian Hills Douglas Dewar 1916

  • European Pressphoto Agency Egrets sat with myna birds on a shrub in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, near the northeastern Indian city of Gauhati, Assam, Nov. 5.

    India's Birds of Winter 2011

  • "The sun is shining, the myna birds are chattering, palm trees are swaying, so what."

    Setting the Scene for 'The Descendants' Kaui Hart Hemmings 2012

  • Wieden+Kennedy 'My parrot, your myna,' says this poster, a wordplay on male and female body parts.

    The Morning Show 2011

  • I haven't heard the Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker for ages, so I don't know where he went, but the Peaceful Dove, the Spotted Dove and the two myna species Common and White-vented are all permanent residents in our trees.

    Archive 2010-03-01 Glenda Larke 2010

  • I haven't heard the Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker for ages, so I don't know where he went, but the Peaceful Dove, the Spotted Dove and the two myna species Common and White-vented are all permanent residents in our trees.

    Birds in the garden Glenda Larke 2010

  • But Corporations do not have Freedom of Speech, any more than myna birds or computers do.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » What’s Missing from This New York Times Editorial? 2009

  • For numberless years a myna had astounded travelers to the caravansary with its ability to spew indecencies in ten languages, and before the fight broke out everyone assumed the old blue-tongued devil on its perch by the fireplace was the one who maligned the giant African with such foulness and verve.

    Excerpt: Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon 2007

  • On this temperate autumn evening in the kingdom of Arran in the eastern foothills of the Caucasus, it was only the two natives of burning jungles, the African and the myna, who sought to warm their bones.

    Excerpt: Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon 2007

  • But Corporations do not have Freedom of Speech, any more than myna birds or computers do.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » What’s Missing from This New York Times Editorial? 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.