mopoke

/ (ˈməʊˌpəʊk) /

noun

Also called (NZ): ruru a small spotted owl, Ninox novaeseelandiae, of Australia and New Zealand. In Australia the tawny frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is very often wrongly identified as the mopoke

Australian and NZ slang a slow or lugubrious person

Nearby words

moped, mopery, mopes, mopey, mopish, mopoke, mopp, mopper-up, moppet, mopping-up, mopy

Also called (NZ): morepork

Word Origin for mopoke

C19: imitative of the bird's cry

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

Examples from the Web for mopoke

The wind swayed gently the branches of the great she-oaks as a mopoke's mournful note came from the gum trees.
Jean, Our Little Australian Cousin|Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
You'll never be missed in the dark, and I 'll light plenty of candles now, and dazzle the Mopoke.
The Moving Finger|Mary Gaunt