Word Meanings - PIGEON - Book Publishers vocabulary database

Any bird of the order Columbæ, of which numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world. Note: The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from the Old World rock pigeon . It has given rise to numerous very remarkable varieties, such

Additional info about word: PIGEON

Any bird of the order Columbæ, of which numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world. Note: The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from the Old World rock pigeon . It has given rise to numerous very remarkable varieties, such as the carrier, fantail, nun, pouter, tumbler, etc. The common wild pigeons of the Eastern United States are the passenger pigeon, and the Carolina dove. See under Passenger, and Dove. See, also, Fruit pigeon, Ground pigeon, Queen pigeon, Stock pigeon, under Fruit, Ground, etc. 2. An unsuspected victim of sharpers; a gull. Blue pigeon , an Australian passerine bird ; -- called also black-faced crow. -- Green pigeon , any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to the family Treronidæ. -- Imperial pigeon , any one of the large Asiatic fruit pigeons of the genus Carpophada. -- Pigeon berry , the purplish black fruit of the pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed. -- Pigeon English Etym: , an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindoostanee. Johnson's Cyc. -- Pigeon grass , a kind of foxtail grass , of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly eaten by pigeons and other birds. -- Pigeon hawk. A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked with brown. The tail is banded. The American sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter velox, or fuscus). -- Pigeon hole. A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house. See Pigeonhole. pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled through little arches. Halliwell. -- Pigeon house, a dovecote. -- Pigeon pea , the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the plant itself. -- Pigeon plum , the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus . -- Pigeon tremex. See under Tremex. -- Pigeon wood , a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba. -- Pigeon woodpecker , the flicker. -- Prairie pigeon. The upland plover. The golden plover.

Related words: (words related to PIGEON)

• COLUMBIA
  America; the United States; -- a poetical appellation given in honor of Columbus, the discoverer. Dr. T. Dwight.
• WORLDLY
  1. Relating to the world; human; common; as, worldly maxims; worldly actions. "I thus neglecting worldly ends." Shak. Many years it hath continued, standing by no other worldly mean but that one only hand which erected it. Hooker. 2. Pertaining
• DERIVE
  To flow; to have origin; to descend; to proceed; to be deduced. Shak. Power from heaven Derives, and monarchs rule by gods appointed. Prior.
• COMMONER
  1. One of the common people; one having no rank of nobility. All below them even their children, were commoners, and in the eye law equal to each other. Hallam. 2. A member of the House of Commons. 3. One who has a joint right in common ground.
• PIGEON-HEARTED
  Timid; easily frightened; chicken-hearted. Beau. & Fl.
• WORLDLY-MINDED
  Devoted to worldly interests; mindful of the affairs of the present life, and forgetful of those of the future; loving and pursuing this world's goods, to the exclusion of piety and attention to spiritual concerns. -- World"ly*mind`ed*ness, n.
• WORLD-WIDE
  Extended throughout the world; as, world-wide fame. Tennyson.
• PIGEONHOLE
  A small compartment in a desk or case for the keeping of letters, documents, etc.; -- so called from the resemblance of a row of them to the compartments in a dovecote. Burke.
• COLUMBIAN
  Of or pertaining to the United States, or to America.
• COLUMBINE
  Of or pertaining to a dove; dovelike; dove-colored. "Columbine innocency." Bacon.
• DOMESTICATE
  1. To make domestic; to habituate to home life; as, to domesticate one's self. 2. To cause to be, as it were, of one's family or country; as, to domesticate a foreign custom or word. 3. To tame or reclaim from a wild state; as, to domesticate wild
• COMMONISH
  Somewhat common; commonplace; vulgar.
• COMMONLY
  1. Usually; generally; ordinarily; frequently; for the most part; as, confirmed habits commonly continue trough life. 2. In common; familiary. Spenser.
• SPECIES
  A group of individuals agreeing in common attributes, and designated by a common name; a conception subordinated to another conception, called a genus, or generic conception, from which it differs in containing or comprehending more attributes,
• COLUMBO
  See CALUMBA
• PIGEONFOOT
  The dove's-foot geranium .
• WHICHEVER; WHICHSOEVER
  Whether one or another; whether one or the other; which; that one which; as, whichever road you take, it will lead you to town.
• OCCURRENT
  1. One who meets; hence, an adversary. Holland. 2. Anything that happens; an occurrence. These we must meet with in obvious occurrents of the world. Sir T. Browne.
• COMMONWEALTH
  Specifically, the form of government established on the death of Charles I., in 1649, which existed under Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard, ending with the abdication of the latter in 1659. Syn. -- State; realm; republic. (more info) 1. A state;
• COLUMBARY
  A dovecote; a pigeon house. Sir T. Browne.
• UNCOMMON
  Not common; unusual; infrequent; rare; hence, remarkable; strange; as, an uncommon season; an uncommon degree of cold or heat; uncommon courage. Syn. -- Rare; scarce; infrequent; unwonted. -- Un*com"mon*ly, adv. -- Un*com"mon*ness, n.
• DERIVATIVE
  Obtained by derivation; derived; not radical, original, or fundamental; originating, deduced, or formed from something else; secondary; as, a derivative conveyance; a derivative word. Derivative circulation, a modification of the circulation found
• INNUMEROUS
  Innumerable. Milton.
• FELLOW-COMMONER
  A student at Cambridge University, England, who commons, or dines, at the Fellow's table.
• IMBORDER
  To furnish or inclose with a border; to form a border of. Milton.
• INTERCOMMON
  To graze cattle promiscuously in the commons of each other, as the inhabitants of adjoining townships, manors, etc. (more info) 1. To share with others; to participate; especially, to eat at the same table. Bacon.
• MISORDER
  To order ill; to manage erroneously; to conduct badly. Shak.
• ACCORDER
  One who accords, assents, or concedes.
• MISDERIVE
  1. To turn or divert improperly; to misdirect. Bp. Hall. 2. To derive erroneously.