chough

[ chuhf ]

/ tʃʌf /

noun

any of several crowlike Old World birds, especially Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, of Europe.

Nearby words

chou en-lai, chou pastry, chou shu-jen, choucroute, chouette, chough, choukoutien, chouse, choux, choux pastry, chow

Origin of chough

1275–1325; Middle English choghe; akin to Old English cēo, Dutch kauw, Danish kaa

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

Examples from the Web for chough

"Come and see," croaked the chough, hopping towards the door.
Cornish Saints and Sinners|J. Henry Harris
It is not so easy to see a chough now outside of a "collection."
Cornish Saints and Sinners|J. Henry Harris
The Chough appears to be a sedentary species in all parts of its distribution.
British Sea Birds|Charles Dixon
The Chough breeds in colonies, which resort to lofty ocean cliffs, especially such where caves and fissures are plentiful.
British Sea Birds|Charles Dixon

Not many years since, the Chough was far from uncommon in several parts of the coast of Devon and Cornwall.
British Birds in their Haunts|Rev. C. A. Johns

British Dictionary definitions for chough

chough

/ (tʃʌf) /

noun

a large black passerine bird, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, of parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with a long downward-curving red bill: family Corvidae (crows)

alpine chough a smaller related bird, Pyrrhocorax graculus, with a shorter yellow bill

Word Origin for chough

C14: of uncertain origin; probably related to Old French cauwe, Old English cēo

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