wheatear

wheatear

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʍiːtɪəɹ/, /ˈwiːtɪəɹ/

Etymology 1

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.

Noun

Northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

wheatear (plural wheatears)

1. Any of various passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe that feed on insects,
   • 1669, Edward Chamberlayne, Angliae Notitia; or, The Present State of England, London: T.N. for John Martyn, OCLC 228723697, page 6:

     What abundance of Hens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, Pigeons, and Larks? [...] Maychit, Stint, Sea-Plover, Pewits, Redshanks, Rayles, and Wheat-ears, Herrons, Cranes, Bitterns, Bustards, Puffins, God-wits,

   • 1796, Tobias Smollett, The miscellaneous works of Tobias Smollett, M.D. With memoirs of his life and writings, Edinburgh: J. Mundell, OCLC 225646047, page 21:

     great plenty of the birds so much admired at Tunbridge under the name of wheat-ears. By-the-bye, this is a pleasant corruption of white-a—se, the translation of the French name cul blanc, taken from their color; for they are actually white towards the tail.

   1. especially, the northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Synonyms

• clodhopper, fallow-chat, fallow-smiter

Derived terms

• Atlas wheatear
• desert wheatear
• isabelline wheatear
• northern wheatear
• pied wheatear
• western black-eared wheatear

Translations

birds of genus Oenanthe

Bulgarian: сиво каменарче n (sivo kamenarče) Chechen: тӏулган гӏайренашкара хьоза (tʼulgan ğajrenaškara ḥʳoza) Czech: bělořit (cs) Dutch: tapuit (nl) m Faroese: steinstólpa f Finnish: kivitasku (fi) French: traquet (fr) m German: Steinschmätzer (de) m Greek: Ancient: οἰνάνθη f (oinánthē) Irish: clochrán m Navajo: tsékʼi dǫ́ʼiiyiyiitsahí Norman: blianche-coue f Norwegian: Bokmål: steinskvett m Polish: białorzytka (pl) f Russian: ка́менка (ru) f (kámenka) Scottish Gaelic: clacharan m (Oenanthe oenanthe), brù-gheal m Spanish: collalba f Hungarian: hantmadár (hu) Inari Sami: keđgirástágâš Lule Sami: gierggerástes Northern Sami: geađgerásttis Swedish: steinskvätta c Welsh: tinwen y garn

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• “wheatear”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Etymology 2

From Middle English whete-ere, equivalent to wheat +‎ ear.

Noun

wheatear (plural wheatears)

1. An ear of wheat.
2. A decorative pattern resembling an ear of wheat.

Anagrams

• Haweater, aweather, taraweeh