buzzard

[buhz-erd]

noun

any of several broad-winged, soaring hawks of the genus Buteo and allied genera, especially B. buteo, of Europe.
any of several New World vultures of the family Cathartidae, especially the turkey vulture.
Slang. a contemptible or cantankerous person (often preceded by old): That old buzzard has lived in the same shack for twenty years.

adjective

Obsolete. senseless; stupid.

Origin of buzzard

1250–1300; Middle English busard < Old French, variant of buisard, equivalent to buis(on) buzzard (< Latin būteōn-, stem of būteō kind of hawk) + -ard -ard

Related formsbuz·zard·like, adjectivebuz·zard·ly, adjective, adverb

buzzard

[buhz-erd]

noun British Dialect.

any of various nocturnal buzzing insects, as cockchafers.

Origin of buzzard

First recorded in 1645–55; buzz¹ + -ard

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

Examples from the Web for buzzard

Historical Examples of buzzard

The jury had listened to the buzzard's harangue, with their eyes, not with their ears.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
Pity they didn't get that buzzard and hang him, isn't it, sir?
Mixed Faces
Roy Norton
Turkey Buzzard put it on and strutted up and down the forest.
Stories the Iroquois Tell Their Children
Mabel Powers
Well, they killed a wild turkey and a buzzard, the latter good for naught.
Three Years on the Plains
Edmund B. Tuttle
We saw several porcupines, and an owl as large as a buzzard.
Pluck on the Long Trail
Edwin L. Sabin

British Dictionary definitions for buzzard

buzzard

noun

any diurnal bird of prey of the genus Buteo, typically having broad wings and tail and a soaring flight: family Accipitridae (hawks, etc)Compare honey buzzard, turkey buzzard
a mean or cantankerous person

Word Origin for buzzard

C13: from Old French buisard, variant of buison buzzard, from Latin būteō hawk, falcon

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

Word Origin and History for buzzard

c.1300, from Old French buisart "buzzard, harrier, inferior hawk," from buson, buison, from Latin buteonem (nominative buteo) a kind of hawk, perhaps with -art suffix for one that carries on some action or possesses some quality, with derogatory connotation (see -ard).