Definitions

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

  • noun Plural form of ortolan.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

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

Examples

  • -- T. "ortolans" were small and tasty birds much favored by gourmands; "pye of Perigord" was a meat pie flavored with truffles.

    Prose and Poetry of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu 1709

  • Much more to my taste was another savory dish, Pintade Fermier $12, which I knew from my French adventures was a small guinea hen, similar to the ortolans of my Gallic youth, tiny birds grilled quickly and then crunchingly eaten whole under the protection of a large napkin over your head at decadent French country parties.

    Jay Weston: Good Evening Vietnam: Red Medicine Is Here Jay Weston 2011

  • From the intensity of their interest, you would have thought that Gaël was at work on an elaborate preparation of some rare and unprecedented dish, like spherified ortolans.

    The Sorcerer’s Apprentices Lisa Abend 2011

  • From the intensity of their interest, you would have thought that Gaël was at work on an elaborate preparation of some rare and unprecedented dish, like spherified ortolans.

    The Sorcerer’s Apprentices Lisa Abend 2011

  • Much more to my taste was another savory dish, Pintade Fermier $12, which I knew from my French adventures was a small guinea hen, similar to the ortolans of my Gallic youth, tiny birds grilled quickly and then crunchingly eaten whole under the protection of a large napkin over your head at decadent French country parties.

    Jay Weston: Good Evening Vietnam: Red Medicine Is Here Jay Weston 2011

  • In the summer, when there was no game, there were quails from Egypt, fattened in Europe, and ortolans from France ‘which cost a fortune’.

    Vegetarianism | Edwardian Promenade 2008

  • But who today plucks the tongues of larks or hummingbirds, or fattens ortolans in cages?

    Letters to the Editor 2007

  • But who today plucks the tongues of larks or hummingbirds, or fattens ortolans in cages?

    Letters to the Editor 2007

  • Still, eating ortolans isnt technically illegal, so English TV personality Jeremy Clarkson ventured to Gascony in 2002 to sample what he called the ultimate French delicacy, the highest of haute cuisine.

    The Foie Gras Wars Mark Caro 2009

  • But who today plucks the tongues of larks or hummingbirds, or fattens ortolans in cages?

    Letters to the Editor 2007

Comments

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