nightingale

[ nahyt-n-geyl, nahy-ting- ]

/ ˈnaɪt nˌgeɪl, ˈnaɪ tɪŋ- /

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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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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)

Words nearby nightingale

nightglow, nightgown, nighthawk, night heron, nightie, nightingale, Nightingale, Florence, Nightingale ward, nightjar, night jasmine, Night Journey

Other definitions for nightingale (2 of 2)

Nightingale

[ nahyt-n-geyl, nahy-ting- ]

/ ˈnaɪt nˌgeɪl, ˈnaɪ tɪŋ- /

noun

Florence "the 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. 2022

How to use nightingale in a sentence

The team selected a relatively smooth patch in a crater named Nightingale.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx survived its risky mission to grab a piece of an asteroid|Lisa Grossman|October 21, 2020|Science News
OSIRIS-REx touched down on a 52-foot-long site called Nightingale, within three feet of the landing target.
OSIRIS-REx survived its touchdown on asteroid Bennu—now we wait to see if it got a sample|Neel Patel|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Because Nightingale will already have been disturbed by the first touchdown, a second attempt would most likely occur in January at a site called Osprey.
A NASA spacecraft is about to scoop up some asteroid rubble|Neel Patel|October 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
So instead, the team has now settled on Nightingale, a 52-foot-diameter site sitting inside a crater that’s thought to be well preserved.
A NASA spacecraft is about to scoop up some asteroid rubble|Neel Patel|October 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review

It just so happens Nightingale is one of the darkest areas of Bennu, which means it might be an undisturbed record of some of the most ancient activity in the solar system.
Asteroid Bennu may have been home to ancient water flows|Neel Patel|October 8, 2020|MIT Technology Review
She reaches across the years, back to A Million Nightingale and onward to Take One Candle Light a Room.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Sept. 10, 2012|Jimmy So|September 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Parsons, who preceded Hopper, was Florence Nightingale compared to her eventual rival.
The Vipers of Tinseltown|Lee Siegel|July 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Menshikova will do very well; she sings the Nightingale song in the second act beautifully.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
At this rehearsal, then, she would show what she could do; she would look at no one; she would sing like a blind nightingale.
Black Diamonds|Mr Jkai
Every thing, however, was delightfully clean; and as I lay in my bed, I was serenaded by a nightingale.
Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808|Lt-Col. Pinkney
Presently, a second nightingale began to answer from a distant tree, and the garden was filled with the wild music.
The Daughters of Danaus|Mona Caird
The song of the nightingale in the spring will be the sign of our coming.
Life of Schamyl|John Milton Mackie

British Dictionary definitions for nightingale (1 of 2)

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

British Dictionary definitions for nightingale (2 of 2)

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for nightingale

Nightingale

[ nīt′n-gāl′ ]

Florence 1820-1910

British nurse who organized (1854) and directed a unit of field nurses during the Crimean War and is considered the founder of modern nursing.

nightingale

Origin of nightingale

Words nearby nightingale

Other definitions for nightingale (2 of 2)

Words related to nightingale

How to use nightingale in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nightingale (1 of 2)

Word Origin for nightingale

British Dictionary definitions for nightingale (2 of 2)

Medical definitions for nightingale