passerine

[ pas-er-in, -uh-rahyn, -uh-reen ]

/ ˈpæs ər ɪn, -əˌraɪn, -əˌrin /

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adjective

of, belonging, or pertaining to the order Passeriformes, comprising more than half of all birds and typically having the feet adapted for perching.

oscine (def. 1).

noun

any bird of the order Passeriformes.

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Origin of passerine

1770–80; <Latin passerīnus of a sparrow, equivalent to passer sparrow + -īnus-ine¹

OTHER WORDS FROM passerine

non·pas·ser·ine, adjective, noun

Words nearby passerine

passe-partout, passepied, passer, passerby, passeriform, passerine, pas seul, pass-fail, pass for, passible, passifloraceous

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

How to use passerine in a sentence

There are not more than about twenty species of small passerine birds that live all the year in London proper.
Birds in London|W. H. Hudson
Strepera, strep′e-ra, n. an Australian genus of corvine passerine birds, the crow-shrikes.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Turdus, tur′dus, n. a genus of Passerine birds of the Turdid family, the thrushes.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Tyran′nid, a family of Passerine birds, the typical genus Tyran′nus, the tyrant-birds or tyrant-flycatchers.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various

The pie, the gallinaceous, the columbine and passerine tribes resort to the fruit- bearing trees.
Wanderings in South America|Charles Waterton

British Dictionary definitions for passerine

passerine

/ (ˈpæsəˌraɪn, -ˌriːn) /

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Passeriformes, an order of birds characterized by the perching habit: includes the larks, finches, crows, thrushes, starlings, etc

noun

any bird belonging to the order Passeriformes

Word Origin for passerine

C18: from Latin passer sparrow

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

Scientific definitions for passerine

passerine

[ păs′ə-rīn′ ]

Belonging to the avian order Passeriformes, which includes the perching birds. Passerine birds make up more than half of all living birds. They are of small to medium size, have three toes pointing forward and one pointing back, and are often brightly colored. Larks, swallows, jays, crows, wrens, thrushes, cardinals, finches, sparrows, and blackbirds are all passerine birds.