dabchick
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of dabchick
1565–75; earlier dapchick ( see dap, chick); compare doppened moorhen (literally, dipping duck)
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.
As he spoke he bobbed and dipped like a dabchick or little grebe.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Hardly a wild-duck is now seen; one or two moorhens or a dabchick seem all.
From The Life of the Fields by Jefferies, Richard
Spī′der-catch′er, the wall-creeper; Spī′der-crab, a spider-like crab, or sea-spider with long thin legs; Spī′der-dīv′er, the little grebe, or dabchick; Spī′derdom, spiders collectively.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Thus far, we have got for representatives of our dabchick group, eight species of little birds—namely, two Torrent-ouzels, three Lily-ouzels, one Grebe, and two Titanias.
From Love's Meinie Three Lectures on Greek and English Birds by Ruskin, John
If the kingfisher can find a living and abundant fish in our rivers and brooks, why does the dabchick migrate?
From The Naturalist on the Thames by Cornish, C. J. (Charles John)
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.
