pewit

American  

[pee-wit, pyoo-it] / ˈpi wɪt, ˈpyu ɪt /

Or peewit

noun

1. the lapwing, Vanellus vanellus.

2. the phoebe.

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pewit British  

/ ˈpiːwɪt /

noun

1. another name for lapwing

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Etymology

Origin of pewit

First recorded in 1520–30; imitative

Example Sentences

On the 7th, we saw a curlieu and a pewit, and on the 9th we caught a land-bird, very much resembling a starling.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert

As I came near them, some of them kept flying round and round just over my head, and crying "pewit" so distinctly one might almost fancy they spoke.

From Types of Children's Literature by Barnes, Walter

Hence stork and swallow are the friends of man, while the pewit dwells in exile, fleeing ever from his presence with its lonesome cry.

From The Making of an American by Riis, Jacob A. (Jacob August)

It is unmistakably spring, because the pewit bushes are budding and on yonder aspen we can hear a forsythia bursting into song.

From Mince Pie by Morley, Christopher

The Clan, lingering behind their parents, looked back at the group on the castle terrace before the trees hid them from sight, and Jock sent the pewit call shrilling through the dusk.

From The Scotch Twins by Perkins, Lucy Fitch