drongo

[ drong-goh ]

/ ˈdrɒŋ goʊ /

noun, plural dron·gos.

any passerine bird of the family Dicruridae, of Africa, Asia, and Australia, the several species usually having black plumage and long, forked tails.

Nearby words

dromos, dromotropic, dronabinol, drone, drone aircraft, drongo, dronklap, dronkverdriet, droob, drook, drookit

Origin of drongo

Borrowed into English from Malagasy around 1835–45

Definition for drongo (2 of 2)

drongo

[ drong-goh ]

/ ˈdrɒŋ goʊ /

noun, plural dron·gos. Australian Slang.

a stupid or slow-witted person; simpleton.

Origin of drongo

1920–25; probably to be identified with drongo¹, as a name for the Australian bird Dicrurus bracteata; though often popularly alleged to have originated from the name of an unsuccessful racehorse of the 1920s

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

Examples from the Web for drongo

The drongo cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris) is a bird of which I know practically nothing.
Birds of the Plains|Douglas Dewar
May not the blackness and the forked tail of the drongo cuckoo have arisen in the same way as they arose in the king-crow?
Birds of the Plains|Douglas Dewar
On the other hand, a captive Racket-tailed drongo rejected toads when offered to it.
The Making of Species|Douglas Dewar
The drongo builds earlier, for it is usually feeding its young while the oriole is incubating.
Birds of the Plains|Douglas Dewar

This drongo was seen in areas where the trees had been cut, sitting on limbs and darting out after insects.
Birds from North Borneo|Max C. Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for drongo

drongo

/ (ˈdrɒŋɡəʊ) /

noun plural -gos

Also called: drongo shrike any insectivorous songbird of the family Dicruridae, of the Old World tropics, having a glossy black plumage, a forked tail, and a stout bill

Australian and NZ slang a slow-witted person

Australian informal a new recruit in the Royal Australian Air Force

Word Origin for drongo

C19: from Malagasy

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