ortolan

[awr-tl-uh n]

noun

an Old World bunting, Emberiza hortulana, esteemed as a table delicacy.
the bobolink.

Origin of ortolan

1520–30; < French < Provençal: literally, gardener (i.e., frequenting gardens) < Latin hortulānus, equivalent to hortul(us) little garden (hort(us) garden + -ulus -ule) + -ānus -an

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ortolan

Historical Examples of ortolan

In the house they must be treated in the same manner as the ortolan.
The Natural History of Cage Birds
J. M. Bechstein
The Ortolan is not famed for its song, which is, however, soft and sweet.
Eccentricities of the Animal Creation.
John Timbs
There is, however, some consolation for the rarity of the Ortolan in England.
Eccentricities of the Animal Creation.
John Timbs
The reed-bird—in the West Indies called “ortolan”—is also found in the same markets with the canvas-back.
The Hunters' Feast
Mayne Reid
Ortolan (endorsed by Labbé) argues (work cited, p. 31) that populus plebsque no more implies separation than senatus populusque.
The Evolution of States
J. M. Robertson

British Dictionary definitions for ortolan

ortolan

noun

Also called: ortolan bunting a brownish Old World bunting, Emberiza hortulana, regarded as a delicacy
any of various other small birds eaten as delicacies, esp the bobolink

Word Origin for ortolan

C17: via French from Latin hortulānus, from hortulus, diminutive of hortus garden

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