dowitcher

[ dou-ich-er ]

/ ˈdaʊ ɪtʃ ər /

noun

any of several long-billed, snipelike shore birds of North America and Asia, especially Limnodromus griseus.

Nearby words

dower chest, dower house, dowery, dowf, dowie, dowitcher, dowland, dowland, john, dowlas, dowly, down

Origin of dowitcher

1835–45, Americanism; perhaps < N Iroquoian; compare Mohawk tawístawis snipe

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

Examples from the Web for dowitcher

This species of the dowitcher is a western bird, breeding well to the north and migrating south to Mexico.
Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast|Harry Thom Payne
Though not of the same genus, the closet relative to the Wilson snipe is the dowitcher or red-breasted snipe.
Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast|Harry Thom Payne
Now that the dowitcher has been definitely shown to breed in Alberta, these records look authentic.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)|Arthur Cleveland Bent
Other shorebirds that eat leaf-beetles are the Wilson phalarope and dowitcher.
Our Vanishing Wild Life|William T. Hornaday

Although all shore birds can swim, the dowitcher seems to be especially adept at it.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)|Arthur Cleveland Bent

British Dictionary definitions for dowitcher

dowitcher

/ (ˈdaʊɪtʃə) /

noun

either of two snipelike shore birds, Limnodromus griseus or L. scolopaceus, of arctic and subarctic North America: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes

Word Origin for dowitcher

C19: of Iroquoian origin

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