bulbul

[boo l-boo l]

noun

a songbird often mentioned in Persian poetry, regarded as being a nightingale.

any of several oscine birds of the family Pycnonotidae, of the Old World tropics.

Origin of bulbul

Borrowed into English from Persian around 1775–85

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

Examples from the Web for bulbul

Contemporary Examples of bulbul

He could have said "bulbul," the word little Israeli kids use, but he didn't—he "confused" it.
Baron-Cohen's Bilbul
Elisheva Goldberg
June 13, 2012

Historical Examples of bulbul

Don't you remember the grand Oriental ballet of the "Bulbul and the Peri?"
The Wolves and the Lamb
William Makepeace Thackeray
Miss Clapperclaw says Bulbul is evidently smitten, and Clara too.
The Christmas Books
William Makepeace Thackeray
Bulbul's dinners are, I own, very good; his pilaffs and curries excellent.
The Christmas Books
William Makepeace Thackeray
Its crest is pointed and its cheeks are white like those of an Otocompsa bulbul.
Birds of the Indian Hills
Douglas Dewar
A speckled black-and-white woodpecker about the size of a bulbul.
Birds of the Indian Hills
Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for bulbul

bulbul

noun

any songbird of the family Pycnonotidae of tropical Africa and Asia, having brown plumage and, in many species, a distinct crest

a songbird, taken to be the nightingale, often mentioned in Persian poetry

Word Origin for bulbul

C18: via Persian from Arabic

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