avadavat
[av-uh-duh-vat]
- 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.
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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. 2018
Examples from the Web for avadavat
Historical Examples
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 PastimesDorothy 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 IndiaJohn Lockwood Kipling
avadavat
amadavat (ˌæmədəˈvæt)
- either of two Asian weaverbirds of the genus Estrilda, esp E. amandava, having a red plumage: often kept as cagebirds
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Word Origin
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
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