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ortolan

[ awr-tl-uhn ]
/ ˈɔr tl ən /

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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for ortolan

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