linnet

[ lin-it ]

noun
  1. a small Old World finch, Carduelis cannabina.

  2. any of various related birds, as the house finch.

Origin of linnet

1
1520–30; earlier linet<Middle French (Walloon, Picard ) linette (French linot, linotte), derivative of lin flax (cf. line1; so named for its diet of flaxseeds); see -et

Words Nearby linnet

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

How to use linnet in a sentence

  • No one would have known that it was anything but a common linnet, and yesterday the queen would have thought so too.

  • "The linnet's plumage is sleek, and her song pleasant to hear," retorted Ninyas with a mocking laugh.

    Sarchedon | G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville
  • The "linnet" thereupon dashed in among the American gunboats, and, driving them off, commenced a raking fire upon the "Saratoga."

  • Under the stern of the "Saratoga" lay the "linnet," pouring in raking broadsides.

  • Yet neither with linnet nor with lark could her little wee son woo the smiles back to his dear mother's face.

    Stories from the Ballads | Mary MacGregor

British Dictionary definitions for linnet

linnet

/ (ˈlɪnɪt) /


noun
  1. a brownish Old World finch, Acanthis cannabina : the male has a red breast and forehead

  2. Also called: house finch a similar and related North American bird, Carpodacus mexicanus

Origin of linnet

1
C16: from Old French linotte, ultimately from Latin līnum flax (because the bird feeds on flaxseeds)

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