Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An obsolete form of
sterling . - noun In hydraulic engineering, an inclosure like a coffer-dam, formed of piles driven closely together, before any work or structure as a protection against the wash of the waves.
- noun One of the piles used in forming such a breakwater.
- noun An oscine passerine bird, of the family Sturnidæ and genus Sturnus, as S. vulgaris of Europe.
- noun One of a breed of domestic pigeons which in color resemble the starling.
- noun Same as
rock-trout ,2.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any passerine bird belonging to Sturnus and allied genera. The European starling (
Sturnus vulgaris ) is dark brown or greenish black, with a metallic gloss, and spotted with yellowish white. It is a sociable bird, and builds about houses, old towers, etc. Called alsostare , andstarred . The pied starling of India isSternopastor contra . - noun (Zoöl.) A California fish; the rock trout.
- noun A structure of piles driven round the piers of a bridge for protection and support; -- called also
sterling . - noun (Zoöl.) See
Pastor .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
gregarious passerine bird , of thefamily Sturnidae , having dark,iridescent plumage - noun A structure of
pilings thatprotects thepiers of abridge - noun A
California fish ; the rock trout.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun gregarious birds native to the Old World
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Anyone who thinks a starling is a pest just don't know anything about how a starling thinks" or something like that.
More Than Human Sturgeon, Theodore, 1918-1985 1953
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We know, in fact, that the starling is our greatest mimic, and that he often succeeds in recognizable reproductions of single notes, of phrases, and occasionally of entire songs, as, for instance, that of the blackbird.
A Shepherd's Life Impressions of the South Wiltshire Downs 1881
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The starling was the most common bird spotted around schools until 2009 when it was knocked off by the blackbird.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
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A starling is a bird common to temperate climates here and in Asia.
WN.com - Articles related to Darwin showed interest in Indian biodiversity: Book 2009
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A starling is a bird common to temperate climates here and in Asia.
WN.com - Articles related to Darwin showed interest in Indian biodiversity: Book 2009
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Accordingly, the Pithamarda should bring the man to her house, under the pretence of seeing the fights of quails, cocks, and rams, of hearing the mania (a kind of starling) talk, or of seeing some other spectacle, or the practice of some art; or he may take the woman to the abode of the man.
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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.”
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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 Thomas Wright 1897
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Accordingly, the Pithamarda should bring the man to her house, under the pretence of seeing the fights of quails, cocks, and rams, of hearing the maina (a kind of starling) talk, or of seeing some other spectacle, or the practice of some art; or he may take the woman to the abode of the man.
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana Translated From The Sanscrit In Seven Parts With Preface, Introduction and Concluding Remarks Vatsyayana 1855
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The birds we had seen hitherto consisted chiefly of prairie chicken, lark, snipe, and a small kind of starling that was continuously swarming around us, and was so tame that it would at times sit on our pack animals while on the march.
knitandpurl commented on the word starling
From By Hook or By Crook by David Crystal: "It is from Old English, steor + ling, 'spotted'. In the eighteenth century, two men who slept with the same woman were said to be brother-starlings. In the nineteenth century, the police used to refer to someone under surveillance as a starling – a person who had been 'spotted', a 'marked man'." (p 81)
December 15, 2008