avadavat

[ av-uh-duh-vat ]

/ ˈæv ə dəˌvæt /

noun

a waxbill, Estrilda amandava, native to Asia, having in the male scarlet plumage with white dots on the sides and breast: raised as a cage bird.

Nearby words

Also amadavat.

Origin of avadavat

1770–80; earlier amaduvad, after Amidavad, a 17th century name (perhaps < Portuguese) for Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, from where the birds were first exported

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for avadavat

A popular proverb says the housewife keeps the parrot, the lover keeps the avadavat, and the thief keeps pigeons.
Beast and Man in India|John Lockwood Kipling
Perhaps the most attractive of small foreign birds is the avadavat, a tiny, perky little soldier.
What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes|Dorothy Canfield Fisher

British Dictionary definitions for avadavat

avadavat

amadavat (ˌæmədəˈvæt)

/ (ˌævədəˈvæt) /

noun

either of two Asian weaverbirds of the genus Estrilda, esp E. amandava, having a red plumage: often kept as cagebirds

Word Origin for avadavat

C18: from Ahmadabad, Indian city from which these birds were brought to Europe

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