dotterel

American  

[dot-er-uhl] / ˈdɒt ər əl /

Also dottrel

noun

1. any of several plovers usually inhabiting upland areas, especially Eudromias morinellus, of Europe and Asia.

2. British Dialect. a silly, stupid person, especially one who is easily duped.

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dotterel British  

/ ˈdɒtrəl /

noun

1. a rare Eurasian plover, Eudromias morinellus, with reddish-brown underparts and white bands around the head and neck

2. any similar and related bird, esp of the genus Charadrius

3. dialect a person who is foolish or easily duped

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Etymology

Origin of dotterel

First recorded in 1400–50, dotterel is from the late Middle English word dotrelle. See dote, -rel

Example Sentences

Scotland is home to Arctic specialists - birds like dotterel, snow bunting and ptarmigan - which are found high on Scotland's mountains.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2022

In spring, "trips" of rare dotterel often led us about the higher hills for days, and sometimes we had to stay all night on the mountain.

From The Confessions of a Poacher by Anonymous

Other names of birds not quite so common used to describe stupid people are dotterel and dodo.

From Stories That Words Tell Us by O'Neill, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Speakman)

These include the golden oriole, pied flycatcher, sand-grouse, dotterel, hoopoe, short-toed lark, moustached grass-warbler, and rose-coloured pastor.

From The Little Gleaner, Vol. X. A Monthly Magazine for the Young by Various

The dotterel is a bird which is very easily caught, and it was from this fact that it got its name, which comes from dote, to be "silly" or "feeble-minded."

From Stories That Words Tell Us by O'Neill, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Speakman)