hoopoe

[ hoo-poo ]

/ ˈhu pu /

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noun

any Old World bird of the family Upupidae, especially Upupa epops, of Europe, having an erectile, fanlike crest.

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Origin of hoopoe

1660–70; variant of obsolete hoopoop (imitative); cognate with Low German huppup; compare Latin upupa

Words nearby hoopoe

hoop-de-do, hooper, hoop iron, hoopla, hoopman, hoopoe, hoop-petticoat narcissus, hoop pine, hoop skirt, hoop snake, hoopster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hoopoe in a sentence

But, to describe the nesting operations of the hoopoe in January is like talking of cricket in April.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
The 6th February is the earliest date on which the writer has observed a hoopoe carrying food to the nest; that was at Ghazipur.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
The Hoopoe is an Eastern bird and we do not see him in America.
The Curious Book of Birds|Abbie Farwell Brown
The Hoopoe said, "He who has no pity for others will find none for himself."
The Curious Book of Birds|Abbie Farwell Brown

The Hoopoe did as he was bid, darting off towards the south like an arrow.
The Curious Book of Birds|Abbie Farwell Brown

British Dictionary definitions for hoopoe

hoopoe

/ (ˈhuːpuː) /

noun

an Old World bird, Upupa epops, having a pinkish-brown plumage with black-and-white wings and an erectile crest: family Upupidae, order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)

Word Origin for hoopoe

C17: from earlier hoopoop, of imitative origin; compare Latin upupa

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