mavis
noun
a song thrush.
mavis
1 American
[mey-vis]
/ ˈmeɪ vɪs /
noun
British (chiefly Literary).
Mavis
2
American
[mey-vis]
/ ˈmeɪ vɪs /
noun
mavis
British
/ ˈmeɪvɪs /
noun
Etymology
Origin of mavis
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mavys, from Anglo-French mauviz, probably equivalent to ma(u)ve “seagull” (from Old English mæw a small gull; see mew 2) + -iz of unclear origin
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.
Robin sings quite late at night too, long after the mavis is mute and every other bird has retired.
From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Stables, Gordon
Merry it is in good greenwood, When the mavis and merle are singing; But merrier were they in Dumfermline gray When all the bells were ringing.
From The Land of Song, Book II For lower grammar grades by Various
From this point the eye glances up through the wooded glen, echoing with the songs of the mavis and the linnet, and over to a mineral well, sheltered by copsewood and pines.
From The Genius of Scotland or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion by Turnbull, Robert
The mellow mavis tunes his lay, The blackbird swells his note, And little robin sweetly sings Above the woody grot.”
From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Stables, Gordon
The boy was clad in robes of grene, Sweete as the infant spring; And like the mavis on the bush, He gart the vallies ring.
From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) 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.
