dodo

American  

[doh-doh] / ˈdoʊ doʊ /

noun

dodos, plural dodoes plural

1. any of several clumsy, flightless, extinct birds of the genera Raphus and Pezophaps, related to pigeons but about the size of a turkey, formerly inhabiting the islands of Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodriguez.

2. Slang. a dull-witted, slow-reacting person.

3. a person with old-fashioned, conservative, or outmoded ideas.

4. a thing that is outmoded or obsolete.

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dodo British  

/ ˈdəʊdəʊ /

noun

1. any flightless bird, esp Raphus cucullatus, of the recently extinct family Raphidae of Mauritius and adjacent islands: order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc). They had a hooked bill, short stout legs, and greyish plumage See also ratite

2. informal an intensely conservative or reactionary person who is unaware of changing fashions, ideas, etc

3. (of a person or thing) irretrievably defunct or out of date

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dodo Idioms  

1. see under dead as a doornail.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dodoism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dodoes
  plural
• dodos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dodo

First recorded in 1620–30, dodo is from the Portuguese word doudo, fool, madman (of uncertain origin); the bird apparently so called from its clumsy appearance

Related Words

• clodpoll