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

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

Word Origin and History for jackdaw

jackdaw

1540s, the common name of the daw (Corvus monedula), "which frequents church towers, old buildings, etc.; noted for its loquacity and thievish propensities" [OED]. See jack (n.) + daw.

In modern times, parrots are almost the only birds that have the gift of speech, though connoisseurs are not ignorant that starlings and jackdaws have good abilities in that way, when properly educated. ["Chambers' Home Book and Pocket Miscellany," 1853]