linnet
Americannoun
-
a small Old World finch, Carduelis cannabina.
-
any of various related birds, as the house finch.
noun
-
a brownish Old World finch, Acanthis cannabina : the male has a red breast and forehead
-
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.
As the companies’ secretary, Galaxy is the only email listed on corporate records for Linnet Marguerite, Tantye Peur, Corniola Ltd. and Krape Myrtle.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Instead, the registered owner was Linnet Marguerite Ltd., a company with a Hong Kong address that isn’t subject to U.S. sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
In another ambivalent characterization, the newlywed Linnet Ridgeway, who in the book trod a fine line between sympathetic and spoiled, now ricochets between heroine and villainess.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2022
Linnet devotes herself one summer to seeking out her father’s friends to determine how he had died.
From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2014
The British had the frigate Confiance, larger than any of the American ships, the brig Linnet, the sloops Chubb and Finch, and thirteen gunboats.
From Stories of Our Naval Heroes Every Child Can Read by Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman
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.