coly

[ koh-lee ]

noun,plural co·lies.

any of several slender, fruit-eating, African birds constituting the family Coliidae, having grayish-brown plumage and a long, pointed tail.

Origin of coly

<New Latin colius<Greek koliós green woodpecker

Also called mousebird.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use coly in a sentence

Here we find the Ostrich, the plantain eaters, the colies and several, other families—nine in all.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 2 [February 1901] | Various

British Dictionary definitions for coly

coly

/ (ˈkəʊlɪ) /

nounplural -lies

any of the arboreal birds of the genus Colius, family Coliidae, and order Coliiformes, of southern Africa. They have a soft hairlike plumage, crested head, and very long tail: Also called: mousebird

Origin of coly

C19: from New Latin colius, probably from Greek kolios woodpecker

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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