Pigeon

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: pi=geon

CIDE DICTIONARY

Pigeon, n. [F., fr. L. pipio a young pipping or chirping bird, fr. pipire to peep, chirp. Cf. Peep to chirp.].

•  Any bird of the order Columbæ, of which numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world.  [1913 Webster]

  " The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from the Old World rock pigeon or rock dove (Columba livia), common in cities. It has given rise to numerous very remarkable varieties, such as the carrier, fantail, nun, pouter, tumbler, etc. The common wild pigeon of the Eastern United States is the Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura, called also Carolina dove). Before the 19th century, the most common pigeon was the passenger pigeon, but that species is now extinct. See Passenger pigeon, and Carolina dove under Dove. See, also, Fruit pigeon, Ground pigeon, Queen pigeon, Stock pigeon, under Fruit, Ground, etc."  [1913 Webster]
•  An unsuspected victim of sharpers; a gull.  [1913 Webster]

Blue pigeon (Zoöl.), an Australian passerine bird (Graucalus melanops); -- called also black-faced crow. -- Green pigeon (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to the family Treronidæ. -- Imperial pigeon (Zoöl.), any one of the large Asiatic fruit pigeons of the genus Carpophada. -- Pigeon berry (Bot.), the purplish black fruit of the pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed. -- Pigeon English [perhaps a corruption of business English], an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindustani. Johnson's Cyc.<-- pidgin English??? --> -- Pigeon grass (Bot.), a kind of foxtail grass (Setaria glauca), of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly eaten by pigeons and other birds. -- Pigeon hawk. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked with brown. The tail is banded. (b) The American sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter velox or Accipiter fuscus). -- Pigeon hole. (a) A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house. (b) See Pigeonhole. (c) pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled through little arches. Halliwell. -- Pigeon house, a dovecote. -- Pigeon pea (Bot.), the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the plant itself. -- Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus (Chrysobalanus ellipticus and Chrysobalanus luteus). -- Pigeon tremex. (Zoöl.) See under Tremex. -- Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba. -- Pigeon woodpecker (Zoöl.), the flicker. -- Prairie pigeon. (Zoöl.) (a) The upland plover. (b) The golden plover. [Local, U.S.]

Pigeon, v. t. 

 To pluck; to fleece; to swindle by tricks in gambling.  Smart.  [1913 Webster]
"He's pigeoned and undone."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Pigeon, n.
1 any of several large usu. grey and white birds of the family Columbidae, esp. Columba livia, often domesticated and bred and trained to carry messages etc.; a dove (cf. rock-pigeon).
2 a person easily swindled; a simpleton.

Idiom

pigeon-breast (or -chest) a deformed human chest with a projecting breastbone. pigeon-breasted (or -chested) having a pigeon-breast. pigeon-fancier a person who keeps and breeds fancy pigeons. pigeon-fancying this pursuit. pigeon-hawk = MERLIN. pigeon-hearted cowardly. pigeon-hole n.
1 each of a set of compartments in a cabinet or on a wall for papers, letters, etc.
2 a small recess for a pigeon to nest in.
--v.tr.
1 deposit (a document) in a pigeon-hole.
2 put (a matter) aside for future consideration or to forget it.
3 assign (a person or thing) to a preconceived category.
pigeon pair Brit.
1 boy and girl twins.
2 a boy and girl as sole children.
pigeon's milk
1 a secretion from the oesophagus with which pigeons feed their young.
2 an imaginary article for which children are sent on a fool's errand. pigeon-toed (of a person) having the toes turned inwards.

Derivative

pigeonry n. (pl. -ies).

Pigeon, n.
1 = PIDGIN.
2 colloq. a particular concern, job, or business (that's not my pigeon).

THESAURUS

Pigeon

Cornish hen, avifauna, babe, baby bird, bamboozle, beat, beguile, beguile of, betray, bilk, bird, bird of Jove, bird of Juno, bird of Minerva, bird of night, bird of passage, bird of prey, birdie, birdlife, birdy, bluff, boob, broiler, bunco, burn, cage bird, caille, cajole, canard, caneton, capon, chapon, cheat, cheat on, chick, chicken, chisel, chouse, chouse out of, chump, cinch, circumvent, cog, cog the dice, con, conjure, cozen, credulous person, crib, cull, cygnet, deceive, defraud, delude, diddle, dindon, diving bird, do in, do out of, double-cross, dove, duck, duckling, dupe, eagle, eaglet, easy mark, easy pickings, euchre, faisan, fall guy, finagle, fish, fish-eating bird, flam, fledgling, fleece, flightless bird, flimflam, fob, fool, forestall, fowl, fruit-eating bird, fryer, fudge, fulmar, game bird, gammon, get around, gobe-mouches, goose, gouge, greener, greenhorn, greeny, grouse, gudgeon, guff, guinea hen, gull, gyp, have, hoax, hocus, hocus-pocus, hornswaggle, humbug, innocent, insect-eating bird, juggle, leadpipe cinch, let down, mark, migrant, migratory bird, mock, monkey, mulct, nestling, oie, oscine bird, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overreach, owl, pack the deal, partridge, passerine bird, patsy, peacock, peafowl, peahen, perching bird, pheasant, pigeonneau, play one false, plaything, poulet, practice fraud upon, prize sap, pushover, put something over, quail, ratite, roaster, rook, sap, saphead, scam, schlemiel, screw, sea bird, seed-eating bird, sell gold bricks, shave, shore bird, shortchange, sitting duck, snow, songbird, squab, stack the cards, stewing chicken, stick, sting, stooge, storm petrel, stormy petrel, string along, sucker, swan, swindle, take a dive, take in, thimblerig, throw a fight, toy, trick, trusting soul, turkey, two-time, victim, victimize, volaille, wading bird, warbler, water bird, waterfowl, wild duck, wildfowl

ROGET THESAURUS

Pigeon

Stealing

VB steal, thieve, rob, mug, purloin, pilfer, filch, prig, bag, nim, crib, cabbage, palm, abstract, appropriate, plagiarize, convey away, carry off, abduct, kidnap, crimp, make off with, walk off with, run off with, run away with, spirit away, seize, plunder, pillage, rifle, sack, loot, ransack, spoil, spoliate, despoil, strip, sweep, gut, forage, levy blackmail, pirate, pickeer, maraud, lift cattle, poach, smuggle, run, badger, bail up, hold up, stick up, bunco, bunko, filibuster, swindle, peculate, embezzle, sponge, mulct, rook, bilk, pluck, pigeon, fleece, defraud, obtain under false pretenses, live by one's wits, rob Peter to pay Paul, borrow of Peter to pay Paul, set a thief to catch a thief, disregard the distinction between meum and tuum, fence, launder, launder money.

Dupe

N dupe, gull, gudgeon, gobemouche, cull, cully, victim, pigeon, April fool, jay, sucker, laughingstock, Cyclops, simple Simon, flat, greenhorn, fool, puppet, cat's paw, credulous, mistaken.