cassowary
Americannoun
-
cassowaries
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cassowary
1605–15; by uncertain mediation < Central Moluccan kasuwari, kasuwali
Explanation
A cassowary is a large flightless bird that's related to an emu. Cassowaries are native to parts of Australia and New Guinea. Though the cassowary is shorter than its leggy emu relatives, these birds are actually heavier — second only to the ostrich. Cassowaries are brightly colored and have a distinctive casque, or helmet, on top of their heads, which some biologists suspect helps the birds amplify a deep "boom" sound they often make. They're also incredibly shy, and difficult to spot in the wild. Cassowary is from the Papuan kasu weri, "horned head."
Vocabulary lists containing cassowary
Australia and New Zealand - Introductory
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Australia and New Zealand - Middle School and High School
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Birds, Birds, Birds, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A southern cassowary chick, one of the world's largest and deadliest birds, has been successfully hatched for the first time at a bird park in the Cotswolds.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024
Among the animals they studied are ostriches, cassowary birds and wombats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2021
The southern cassowary is often called the world’s most dangerous bird.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 28, 2021
Examine the remarkable full-body mask, woven by the Asmat people of New Guinea, affixed with eyes of carved wood and eyelashes of cassowary feathers.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2020
They hastily produce anything they have—anything to conciliate the contemptuous cassowary.
From The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893 An Illustrated Monthly by Various
"Birds like chickens, wrens and cassowaries have low values and tend not to fly very far," Baldwin said in explaining the index values.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2024
A black bear, a tortoise, meerkats, otters, elephants, hogs, hippos, jaguars, cassowaries, snow leopards, flamingos, piranhas, peccaries and howler monkeys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2021
Just don’t try to hatch cassowaries at home, if you know what’s good for you.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 28, 2021
The Gainesville Sun reports that a permit is normally required to possess, sell or publicly exhibit cassowaries, but breeders are exempt from the rule.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 15, 2019
Or it might be birds that caught my attention: pink flamingos or black swans or one-wattled cassowaries, or something smaller, silver diamond doves, Cape glossy starlings, peach-faced lovebirds, Nanday conures, orange-fronted parakeets.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
