Linnet
['lɪnɪt]
Definition
(noun.) small Old World finch whose male has a red breast and forehead.
Edited by Charlene--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Any one of several species of fringilline birds of the genera Linota, Acanthis, and allied genera, esp. the common European species (L. cannabina), which, in full summer plumage, is chestnut brown above, with the breast more or less crimson. The feathers of its head are grayish brown, tipped with crimson. Called also gray linnet, red linnet, rose linnet, brown linnet, lintie, lintwhite, gorse thatcher, linnet finch, and greater redpoll. The American redpoll linnet (Acanthis linaria) often has the crown and throat rosy. See Redpoll, and Twite.
Inputed by Katherine
Definition
n. a small singing-bird—from feeding on flax-seed.
Checker: Millicent
Examples
- This linnet, as near as I can remember, seemed to be somewhat larger than an English swan. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- It seemed as if a linnet had hopped to my foot and proposed to bear me on its tiny wing. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- There were larks, linnets, and goldfinches--I should think at least twenty. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
Checker: Percy