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coly

American

[koh-lee] / ˈkoʊ li /

noun

plural

colies

any of several slender, fruit-eating, African birds constituting the family Coliidae, having grayish-brown plumage and a long, pointed tail.

coly British

/ ˈkəʊlɪ /

noun

Also called: mousebird. any of the arboreal birds of the genus Colius, family Coliidae, and order Coliiformes, of southern Africa. They have a soft hairlike plumage, crested head, and very long tail

"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

Etymology

Origin of coly

< New Latin colius < Greek koliós green woodpecker

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.

Hadst on thy fethers justly late a coly colour spred.

From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2016

While, as a rule, the dorsal region of this tract is relatively narrow, it is in some of great breadth, e.g. grebe, pigeon, coly.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023