bullfinch

¹ American  

[bool-finch] / ˈbʊlˌfɪntʃ /

noun

1. a European finch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, often kept as a pet, the male of which has a black, white, and bluish-gray back and a rosy breast.

2. any of several related or similar birds.

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bullfinch ² American  

[bool-finch] / ˈbʊlˌfɪntʃ /

noun

1. a hedge high enough to impede mounted hunters.

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bullfinch ¹ British  

/ ˈbʊlˌfɪntʃ /

noun

1. a common European finch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula : the male has a bright red throat and breast, black crown, wings, and tail, and a grey-and-white back

2. any of various similar finches

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bullfinch ² British  

/ ˈbʊlˌfɪntʃ /

noun

1. a high thick hedge too difficult for a horse and rider to jump

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Etymology

Origin of bullfinch¹

1560–70; bull ¹ (perhaps in sense “bull-necked”) + finch

Origin of bullfinch²

First recorded in 1825–35; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bullfinch

Shortly after Repeal Julius Kessler returned to Manhattan with his bull terrier Roxy and his bullfinch Dickie, there passed his 80th birthday.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bullfinch, first on the program, was obviously stagestruck.

From Time Magazine Archive

The term finch, also, according to some, may mean either the bullfinch or goldfinch.

From Folk-lore of Shakespeare by Thiselton-Dyer, Thomas Firminger

You take me too much for granted; like the chirrup of a squirrel, let me say, or the whistle of a bullfinch.

From The Sword of Damocles A Story of New York Life by Green, Anna Katharine

From yon thorny bush don’t you hear the blackbird’s sweet notes? while the mellow bullfinch answers those notes from yonder sylvan grove.”

From The Cambrian Sketch-Book Tales, Scenes, and Legends of Wild Wales by Davies, R. Rice