gallinule
Americannoun
noun
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any of various aquatic birds of the genera Porphyrio and Porphyrula, typically having a dark plumage, red bill, and a red shield above the bill: family Rallidae (rails)
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the US name for moorhen
Etymology
Origin of gallinule
1770–80; < New Latin Gallinula a genus name, Late Latin gallīnula chicken, equivalent to Latin gallīn ( a ) hen + -ula -ule
Vocabulary lists containing gallinule
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.
Hundreds of birdwatchers have flocked to the Irvine Ranch Water District’s San Joaquin Marsh, hoping to catch a glimpse of a juvenile purple gallinule.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
An adult purple gallinule has a bright purple and green body with a pale blue marking that resembles a shield above its red and yellow bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Elaine, who visited the Everglades occasionally when she lived in Miami, knows a purple gallinule when she sees one.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
Those who live in or near high-rises often find birds that flew into the buildings at night, and two birds — a peregrine falcon and a common gallinule — were among the most noteworthy donations.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2016
Nearly every such place contained at least one Florida gallinule; but where were the "purples," about which we kept talking,—the "royal purples," concerning whose beauty my boy was so eloquent?
From A Florida Sketch-Book by Bradford Torrey
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.
