jackdaw

[ jak-daw ]

/ ˈdʒækˌdɔ /

noun

a glossy, black, European bird, Corvus monedula, of the crow family, that nests in towers, ruins, etc.

boat-tailed grackle.

Nearby words

jackass penguin, jackass rig, jackatar, jackboot, jackbooted, jackdaw, jacked, jackeen, jackelyn, jackeroo, jacket

Origin of jackdaw

First recorded in 1535–45; jack¹ + daw

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

Examples from the Web for jackdaw

Great crowds came to see the little Jackdaw, and to hear him sing.
Moonshine & Clover|Laurence Housman
J was a jackdaw Who hopped up and down In the principal street Of a neighboring town.
Nonsense Books|Edward Lear
The door was partially opened, and a jackdaw was seen perched on one of the casks.
Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
But their responses are not always well timed, and the notes of the jackdaw sound uncommonly like the scoffings of the ribald.
The Hardy Country|Charles G. Harper

It struck Ambrose for the first time that his own jackdaw had not made a single sound before the other one had returned.
Penelope and the Others|Amy Walton

British Dictionary definitions for jackdaw

jackdaw

/ (ˈdʒækˌdɔː) /

noun

a large common Eurasian passerine bird, Corvus monedula, in which the plumage is black and dark grey: noted for its thieving habits: family Corvidae (crows)

Word Origin for jackdaw

C16: from jack 1 + daw

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