lapwing

[ lap-wing ]

noun

1. a large Old World plover, Vanellus vanellus, having a long, slender, upcurved crest, an erratic, flapping flight, and a shrill cry.
2. any of several similar, related plovers.

lapwing

/ ˈlæpˌwɪŋ /

noun

1. any of several plovers of the genus Vanellus, esp V. vanellus, typically having a crested head, wattles, and spurs Also calledgreen ploverpewitpeewit

Word History and Origins

Origin of lapwing¹

before 1050; Middle English, variant (by association with wing ) of lapwinke, Old English hlēapwince plover. See leap, wink ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lapwing¹

C17: altered form of Old English hlēapewince plover, from hlēapan to leap + wincian to jerk, wink ¹

Example Sentences

And cf. 'to seem the lapwing and to jest, Tongue far from heart'; Meas.

From Project Gutenberg

A low call came from a brooding curlew, a faint sigh from a plover, and the wild rasping cry of a lapwing greeted them overhead.

From Project Gutenberg

And here is a moorcock's; and this—I should know it among a thousand—it's a lapwing's.

From Project Gutenberg

I made him promise he'd never shoot a lapwing after that, and he didn't.

From Project Gutenberg

It was sometimes represented as a crane, at others as a lapwing.

From Project Gutenberg