Word Study
sandpiper
CIDE DICTIONARY
sandpiper, n.
- Any one of numerous species of small limicoline game birds belonging to
Tringa ,Actodromas ,Ereunetes , and various allied genera of the familyTringidæ . [1913 Webster]" The most important North American species are the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa maculata ), called alsobrownback ,grass snipe , andjacksnipe ; the red-backed, or black-breasted, sandpiper, or dunlin (T. alpina ); the purple sandpiper (T. maritima : the red-breasted sandpiper, or knot (T. canutus ); the semipalmated sandpiper (Ereunetes pusillus ); the spotted sandpiper, or teeter-tail (Actitis macularia ); the buff-breasted sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis ), and the Bartramian sandpiper, or upland plover. See underUpland . Among the European species are the dunlin, the knot, the ruff, the sanderling, and the common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucus syn.Tringoides hypoleucus ), called alsofiddler ,peeper ,pleeps ,weet-weet , andsummer snipe . Some of the small plovers and tattlers are also calledsandpipers ." [1913 Webster] - A small lamprey eel; the pride. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
sandpiper, n. any of various wading birds of the family Scolopacidae, frequenting moorland and coastal areas.
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