linnet
Americannoun
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a small Old World finch, Carduelis cannabina.
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any of various related birds, as the house finch.
noun
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a brownish Old World finch, Acanthis cannabina : the male has a red breast and forehead
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Also called: house finch. a similar and related North American bird, Carpodacus mexicanus
Etymology
Origin of linnet
1520–30; earlier linet < Middle French (Walloon, Picard ) linette ( French linot, linotte ), derivative of lin flax ( cf. line 1; so named for its diet of flaxseeds); see -et
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They provide habitat for red-listed farmland birds such as corn bunting, yellowhammer and linnet, as well as winter food for visiting species including fieldfares and redwings.
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
Louder yet calmer than they, among the trees, sounded the yellowhammer, the linnet and greenfinch.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
A startled linnet fled from the whirling blades towards the rose-garden.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
The thrush, the linnet and the goldfinch, robin and the wren, Awake the Sun from his sweet reverie upon the mountains.
From William Blake A Study of His Life and Art Work by Langridge, Irene
The stripling shepherd wand'ring thro' the wood Startles the linnet from her downy nest, Or wreathes his crook with flowers, The sweetest of the fields.
From A Little Book of Old Time Verse Old Fashioned Flowers by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
