avadavat

[av-uh-duh-vat]

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.

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

Historical Examples of avadavat

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
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

British Dictionary definitions for avadavat

avadavat

amadavat (ˌæmədəˈvæt)

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