nightingale
[ nahyt-n-geyl, nahy-ting- ]
/ ˈnaɪt nˌgeɪl, ˈnaɪ tɪŋ- /
noun
any of several small, Old World, migratory birds of the thrush family, especially Luscinia megarhynchos, of Europe, noted for the melodious song of the male, given chiefly at night during the breeding season.
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RELATED WORDS
artist, musician, voice, diva, soloist, crooner, vocalist, troubadour, songbird, songster, minstrel, artiste, warbler, chorister, accompanist, chanter, chanteuse, intoner, melodist, serenader
Nearby words
- nightfall,
- nightglow,
- nightgown,
- nighthawk,
- nightie,
- nightingale ward,
- nightingale, florence,
- nightjar,
- nightlife,
- nightlong
Origin of nightingale
1200–50; Middle English nightyngale, nasalized variant of nightegale, Old English nihtegale, cognate with German Nachtigall, literally, night singer (compare Old English galan sing; akin to yell)
Nightingale
[ nahyt-n-geyl, nahy-ting- ]
/ ˈnaɪt nˌgeɪl, ˈnaɪ tɪŋ- /
noun
Florencethe Lady with the Lamp, 1820–1910, English nurse: reformer of hospital conditions and procedures; reorganizer of nurse's training programs.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for nightingale
nightingale
/ (ˈnaɪtɪŋˌɡeɪl) /
noun
a brownish European songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, with a broad reddish-brown tail: well known for its musical song, usually heard at night
any of various similar or related birds, such as Luscinia luscinia (thrush nightingale)
Word Origin for nightingale
Old English nihtegale, literally: night-singer, from night + galan to sing
Nightingale
/ (ˈnaɪtɪŋˌɡeɪl) /
noun
Florence, known as the Lady with the Lamp. 1820–1910, English nurse, famous for her work during the Crimean War. She helped to raise the status and quality of the nursing profession and founded a training school for nurses in London (1860)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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nightingale
Old English næctigalæ, nihtegale, compound formed in Proto-Germanic (cf. Dutch nachtegaal, German Nachtigall) from *nakht- "night" (see night) + *galon "to sing," related to Old English giellan "yell" (see yell). With parasitic -n- that appeared mid-13c. Dutch nightingale "frog" is attested from 1769. In Japanese, "nightingale floor" is said to be the term for boards that creak when you walk on them.
French rossignol (Old French lousseignol) is, with Spanish ruiseñor, Portuguese rouxinol, Italian rosignuolo, from Vulgar Latin *rosciniola, dissimilated from Latin lusciniola "nightingale," diminutive of luscinia "nightingale."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Nightingale
[ nīt′n-gāl′ ]
British nurse who organized (1854) and directed a unit of field nurses during the Crimean War and is considered the founder of modern nursing.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.