killdeer

[kil-deer]

noun

an American plover, Charadrius vociferus, having two black bands around the upper breast.

Origin of killdeer

An Americanism dating back to 1725–35; imitative

Also called killdeer plover.

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

Examples from the Web for killdeer

Historical Examples of killdeer

All along, the killdeer were darting about, calling loudly and piercingly.
Across the Continent by the Lincoln Highway
Effie Price Gladding
A killdeer sweeping the lake close two o'clock one morning awakened him.
The Harvester
Gene Stratton Porter
The Killdeer is so called on account of the cry which it utters; it resembles "kill-dee, kill-dee."
Endurance Test
Alan Douglas
The scout seized "Killdeer" in his left hand, and elevating it above his head, he shook it in triumph at his enemies.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
The killdeer plovers are as noisy in the park as they are in an eastern pasture-field, and almost as plentiful.
Birds of the Rockies
Leander Sylvester Keyser

British Dictionary definitions for killdeer

killdeer

noun plural -deer or -deers

a large brown-and-white North American plover, Charadrius vociferus, with two black breast bands and a noisy cry

Word Origin for killdeer

C18: of imitative origin

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 killdeer

also killdee, 1731, American English, species of North American ring-plover, the name imitative of its cry.