godwit

English
Godwit

Etymology

Origin unknown. A surface analysis would suggest Old English *gōdwiht as the term's ultimate origin, corresponding to good +‎ wight (“creature”), but the term is attested only since late Middle English.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary considers the term to probably have originally been imitative of the bird's call.[1]

Pronunciation
  • enPR: gŏdˈ -wĭt
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɡɑd.wɪt/
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɡɒd.wɪt/

Noun

godwit (plural godwits)

  1. Any of four species of long-billed migratory wading birds in the genus Limosa, of the family Scolopacidae.
    • c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist:
      My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]

Synonyms

Derived terms
Derived terms

Translations

References
  1. “godwit, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.
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