ouzel

American  

[oo-zuhl] / ˈu zəl /

Or ousel

noun

1. dipper.

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ouzel British  

/ ˈuːzəl /

noun

1. the ring ouzel or water ouzel See ring ouzel dipper

2. an archaic name for the (European) blackbird

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Etymology

Origin of ouzel

before 900; Middle English osel merle, blackbird, Old English ōsle, cognate with German Amsel; akin to Latin merula; see merle ¹

Example Sentences

Down that sheer rock, perhaps into the water at its foot, had been the first flight of the ouzel baby.

From A Bird-Lover in the West by Miller, Olive Thorne

Water ouzel, or American dipper: baby, 80, 85. cry, 79. "dipping," 80. feats in the water, 83. manners, 80, 81. nest, 77. song, 79, 81. the mother, 82.

From A Bird-Lover in the West by Miller, Olive Thorne

During the time I had been so absorbed in my delightful study of domestic life in the ouzel family, the other interesting resident of the cañon—the elusive cañon wren—had been forgotten.

From A Bird-Lover in the West by Miller, Olive Thorne

As he rocked he watched the water ouzel teetering on a rock in the river, joyously shaking from its back the spray which deluged it at intervals.

From The Man from the Bitter Roots by Lockhart, Caroline

Here I find the little water ouzel as much at home as any linnet in a leafy grove, seeming to take the greater delight the more boisterous the stream.

From My First Summer in the Sierra by Muir, John