wheatear

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun small songbird of northern America and Eurasia having a distinctive white rump

Etymology

Uncertain. Probably a back-formation from Middle English whit ers (“white arse”), after the prominent white rump of many species. Compare dialect forms white rump, white-tail. Possibly a compound of wheat + ear or white + ear. Attested since the seventeenth century as wheat-ears or wheatgear.

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