roadrunner

English

WOTD – 5 January 2022

A greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) in Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada, U.S.A.

A lesser roadrunner (Geococcyx velox) in Oaxaca, Mexico.

From road +‎ runner, probably a calque of Spanish correcaminos (“roadrunner”),[1] from correr (“to run”) + caminos (“roads”).

roadrunner (plural roadrunners)

Either of two species of fast-running bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family native to North and Central America, the lesser roadrunner (Geococcyx velox) and, especially, the greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus).
Synonyms: chaparral bird, chaparral cock, (Southwestern US) chaparral hen, paisano

fast-running bird in the genus Geococcyx

Arabic: جواب‎
Bulgarian: бя́гаща ку́кувица f (bjágašta kúkuvica), зе́мна ку́кувица f (zémna kúkuvica)
Cahuilla: puuish
Catalan: correcamins m
Czech: kukačka kohoutí (cs) f
Dutch: renkoekoek (nl) m
Esperanto: vojkurulo
Estonian: jooksurkägu
Finnish: juoksukäki
French: géocoucou (fr) m
German: Rennkuckucke f
Greek: γεωκόκκυγας (geokókkygas)
Hebrew: קוקייה רצנית‎
Hungarian: gyalogkakukk
Irish: reathaí an bhóthair
Italian: corridore della strada m (properly the greater roadrunner)
Japanese: ロードランナー (rōdorannā), 道走 (みちばしり, michibashiri), ミチバシリ (michibashiri)
Korean: 로드러너 (ko) (rodeureoneo)
Macedonian: земна кукавица f (zemna kukavica)
Navajo: naatsédlózii
North Frisian: räänkukütjen
Norwegian:
Bokmål: løpegjøker, veiløpere
Persian: کوکوی دونده‎
Polish: kukawka f
Portuguese: papa-léguas m
Romanian: cucul alergător m
Russian: куку́шка-подоро́жник f (kukúška-podoróžnik)
San Miguel el Grande Mixtec: súhūn
San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo: toonꞌ, tooꞌn
Spanish: correcaminos (es) m
Swedish: tuppgökar
Turkish: koşar gugukla
Ukrainian: таязура-подорожник (tajazura-podorožnyk)
Vietnamese: Chi Chẹo đất
Xicotepec de Juárez Totonac: pūꞌyūꞌt

“roadrunner, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2019; “roadrunner, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.