ortolan

[ awr-tl-uhn ]

/ ˈɔr tl ən /

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noun

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

the bobolink.

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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

Words nearby ortolan

orthotropous, ortho-xylene, orthros, Ortler, Ortles, ortolan, Orton, orts, Orumiyeh, Oruro, ORV

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ortolan in a sentence

Instead of offering us a tie to their actual humanity — everyone has to eat, after all — Succession uses every single ortolan and tumbler of scotch to remind us just how miserable this disgustingly wealthy family actually is.
In ‘Succession,’ Food Exists Only to Create More Misery|Amy McCarthy|November 22, 2021|Eater
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
There is a small bird called the ortolan, which is highly esteemed by the Italian gourmands.
The Art of Stage Dancing|Ned Wayburn
I will complain no more, my son,” said Lamme, rising up: “the herring is ortolan; malvoisie is small beer to free hearts.
The Legend of Ulenspiegel, Vol. II (of 2)|Charles de Coster

An ortolan thus fed is a perfect ball of most delicious fat, weighing about three ounces.
The Natural History of Cage Birds|J. M. Bechstein
The Ortolan is considered sufficiently fat when it is a handful, and is judged by feeling it, and not by appearance.
Eccentricities of the Animal Creation.|John Timbs

British Dictionary definitions for ortolan

ortolan

/ (ˈɔːtələn) /

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