ortolan
See also: Ortolan
English
WOTD – 22 June 2010
![](Images/wiktionary/Hortol%C3%A0_01_Emberiza_hortulana).jpg.webp)
A female ortolan.
Etymology
From Middle French hortolan (“gardener”), from Latin hortulānus (“gardener”). Doublet of hortulan.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɔː.təl.ən/, /ˈɔː.təl.æn/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈɔɹ.tə.læn/, /ˈɔɹ.tə.lən/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
ortolan (plural ortolans)
- A small European migratory bunting (Emberiza hortulana), once eaten whole as a delicacy.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter VI, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], OCLC 928184292, book VII:
- […] this taught him to consider Sophia as a most delicious morsel, indeed to regard her with the same desires which an ortolan inspires into the soul of an epicure.
- 2003, Stewart Lee Allen, In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food, page 73
- […] the last flavor Mitterand wished to savor belonged to the flesh of the endangered ortolan, a songbird the size of a human toe that is a crime to buy or hunt, and is certainly illegal to eat. Mitterand devoured it in the traditional manner, first covering his head with an embroidered cloth, then inserting the entire bird into his mouth. […] Only its head should dangle out from between your lips. Bite off the head and discard.
-
- (US) Any of various similar birds, especially the bobolink, sora, or snow bunting.
- The greater short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla).
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:ortolan.
Hypernyms
- (a small bird eaten as a delicacy): bird, delicacy
Translations
a small bird eaten as a delicacy
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French
![](Images/wiktionary/Ortolan_bunting_in_Sierra_de_Guara%252C_Aragon%252C_Spain.jpg.webp)
un ortolan
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian ortolano, from Latin hortulānus (“gardener”). Doublet of hortelain, found in regional usage.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔʁ.tɔ.lɑ̃/
Noun
ortolan m (plural ortolans)
- ortolan (small bird)
Related terms
- horticulture
Further reading
- “ortolan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from French ortolan, from Middle French hortolan, from Latin hortulānus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔrˈtɔ.lan/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔlan
- Syllabification: or‧to‧lan
Noun
ortolan m anim
- ortolan (small bird eaten as a delicacy)
Declension
Declension of ortolan
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | ortolan | ortolany |
genitive | ortolana | ortolanów |
dative | ortolanowi | ortolanom |
accusative | ortolana | ortolany |
instrumental | ortolanem | ortolanami |
locative | ortolanie | ortolanach |
vocative | ortolanie | ortolany |
Further reading
- ortolan in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- ortolan in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Etymology
From French ortolan.
Noun
ortolan m (plural ortolani)
- ortolan
Declension
Declension of ortolan
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) ortolan | ortolanul | (niște) ortolani | ortolanii |
genitive/dative | (unui) ortolan | ortolanului | (unor) ortolani | ortolanilor |
vocative | ortolanule | ortolanilor |