ostrich

American  

[aw-strich, os-trich] / ˈɔ strɪtʃ, ˈɒs trɪtʃ /

noun

1. a large, two-toed, swift-footed flightless bird, Struthio camelus, indigenous to Africa and Arabia, domesticated for its plumage: the largest of living birds.

2. (not used scientifically) a rhea.

3. a person who attempts to ignore unpleasant facts or situations.

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ostrich British  

/ ˈɒstrɪtʃ /

noun

1. a fast-running flightless African bird, Struthio camelus, that is the largest living bird, with stout two-toed feet and dark feathers, except on the naked head, neck, and legs: order Struthioniformes See ratite

2. another name for rhea

3. a person who refuses to recognize the truth, reality, etc: a reference to the ostrich's supposed habit of burying its head in the sand

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Usage

Where does ostrich come from? A funny-looking animal with a funny origin story is the ostrich. When you look at an ostrich, with its small head, big, long legs, and large, fluffy body, the first thing you think of is a tiny, adorable sparrow, right? Wait, what?As it happens, that's what the ancient Greeks thought, apparently. The word ostrich ultimately comes from the Greek word strouthion, which comes from the Greek expression for "big sparrow." That's right, it seems the Greeks thought the ostrich was just a really big, weird sparrow.Funnily enough, the ancient Greeks also called the ostrich strouthokamelos, which means "camel-sparrow," because the bird has a long neck like a camel.The roots of these other words may get a rise—of laughter or surprise—out of you. Run on over to our roundup of them at "Weird Word Origins That Will Make Your Family Laugh."

Other Word Forms

• ostrichlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of ostrich

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English ostrice, ostriche, from Old French ostrusce (compare French autruche, ) from unattested Vulgar Latin avistrūthius, for Latin avis “bird” + Late Latin strūthiō, from Late Greek strouthíōn; struthious

Example Sentences

With the magic of compounding, if we live long enough, our nest egg could look like it was laid by an ostrich.

From MarketWatch

“You mean Bertha, the ostrich. I remember it all too well.”

From Literature

This took enormous effort, for although chickens are not, technically speaking, flightless birds, like ostriches or dodos, nor are they known for their ability to easily “lift off,” as we say nowadays.

From Literature

Penelope was stunned, for before her stood what was indisputably an ostrich.

From Literature

The ostriches remain on the farm, but have been under the custody of the food inspection agency since late September.

From BBC