definitions

button quail

|

noun

any of several birds of the family Turnicidae, of warmer parts of the Old World, resembling but not related to the true quail.Also called bustard quail, hemipode.
the blue-breasted quail, Coturnix chinensis.

RELATED CONTENT

What Is The Medical Term For “Belly Button”?Some of us get squeamish at the sight of them. Some of us shoot studs into them. And, no two are exactly alike, even for identical twins. We're here to talk about belly buttons, folks.
READ MORE
These Food Names Aren’t What You Think They AreWhen you see mountain oysters on the menu, don’t expect a lovely plate of mollusks caught at the base of Black Mountain in San Francisco Bay.
READ MORE

Nearby words

button, button ear, button man, button mangrove, button one's lip, button quail, button snakeroot, button suture, button tow, button up, button-down

Origin of button quail

First recorded in 1880–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for button quail

  • So there's another heading for a game book here; that might begin with elephant and finish up with mouse-deer and button-quail.

    From Edinburgh to India & Burmah|William G. Burn Murdoch

  • You christened little Miss Demby the Button-quail, last cold weather; you know you did.

    The Day's Work, Volume 1|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for button quail

button quail

noun

any small quail-like terrestrial bird of the genus Turnix, such as T. sylvatica (striped button quail), occurring in tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World: family Turnicidae, order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, etc)Also called: hemipode
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