chiffchaff

[ chif-chaf, -chahf ]

/ ˈtʃɪfˌtʃæf, -ˌtʃɑf /

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noun

a common, greenish Old World warbler, Phylloscopus collybita.

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Origin of chiffchaff

First recorded in 1770–80; gradational compound; imitative

Words nearby chiffchaff

chief warrant officer, chiel, chield, Chiengmai, Ch'ien Lung, chiffchaff, chiffon, chiffonade, chiffonier, chiffonnière, chifforobe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use chiffchaff in a sentence

Only a very few days since—it does not seem a week—there was a chiffchaff calling in a copse as merrily as in the spring.
Nature Near London|Richard Jefferies
The first swallow they looked for, and never missed; but they neither heard nor saw the chiffchaff.
Nature Near London|Richard Jefferies
In the north of England, as it is in the south, the Chiffchaff is perhaps the most constant pioneer of the spring migrants.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires|Charles Dixon
Lastly, we have the Chiffchaff, certainly the rarest and most local of all.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires|Charles Dixon

The chiffchaff uttered his clear yet rather sad notes on April 26.
Field and Hedgerow|Richard Jefferies

British Dictionary definitions for chiffchaff

chiffchaff

/ (ˈtʃɪfˌtʃæf) /

noun

a common European warbler, Phylloscopus collybita, with a yellowish-brown plumage

Word Origin for chiffchaff

C18: imitative of its call

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