mourning cloak

noun

an anglewing butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, widely distributed in Europe and North America, having velvety, dark-brown wings with purple spots and pale-yellow edges.

Nearby words

mourners' bench, mournful, mourning, mourning band, mourning becomes electra, mourning cloak, mourning dove, mourning iris, mourning warbler, mouse, mouse deer

Origin of mourning cloak

First recorded in 1600–10

Also called Camberwell beauty.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mourning cloak

After hatching from the egg, the Mourning-cloak caterpillars are also subject to the attacks of various parasites.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
One is the familiar Mourning-cloak and the other is the Compton Tortoise—the latter generally much less abundant than the former.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
In their habits they are quite similar to the caterpillars of the Mourning-cloak.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
One fine spring morning I came upon a Mourning-cloak depositing a cluster of eggs upon a willow twig.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed

Some species deposit several in a group, while some, like the Mourning-cloak, may lay two or three dozen in a cluster.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed

British Dictionary definitions for mourning cloak

mourning cloak

noun

the US name for Camberwell beauty

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

mourning cloak

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of mourning cloak

Examples from the Web for mourning cloak

British Dictionary definitions for mourning cloak

mourning cloak

noun