ortolan
Americannoun
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an Old World bunting, Emberiza hortulana, esteemed as a table delicacy.
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the bobolink.
noun
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Also called: ortolan bunting. a brownish Old World bunting, Emberiza hortulana, regarded as a delicacy
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any of various other small birds eaten as delicacies, esp the bobolink
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For the film, we had to make an ortolan out of another bird.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2024
I want to talk about the ortolan scene.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2024
Each diner was presented with a sizzling roasted ortolan, a sparrow-like bird the size of a lemon.
From The Guardian • Sep. 12, 2016
The ortolan, a seed-eating songbird that is little bigger than a child's hand, has been banned from restaurant menus in much of Europe since 1999.
From Reuters • Sep. 16, 2014
When totally ruined, having spent near 150,000l., a friend gave him a guinea to keep him from starving; and he was found in a garret soon after roasting an ortolan with his own hands.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 13, No. 350, January 3, 1829 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
