pewit

or pee·wit

[ pee-wit, pyoo-it ]

/ ˈpi wɪt, ˈpyu ɪt /

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noun

the lapwing, Vanellus vanellus.

the phoebe.

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Origin of pewit

First recorded in 1520–30; imitative

Words nearby pewit

pew, pewage, pewee, pew hinge, pewholder, pewit, pewter, pewterer, -pexy, peyote, Peyton

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

How to use pewit in a sentence

I distinctly remembered firing it at a pewit an hour before, for Edmee had wanted to examine the bird's plumage.
Mauprat|George Sand
On the 7th, we saw a curlieu and a pewit, and on the 9th we caught a land-bird, very much resembling a starling.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12|Robert Kerr
One of the first birds I saw, and one of the most puzzling, was the lapwing or pewit.
Fresh Fields|John Burroughs
In his best days, as he records in one of his letters, it was said of him that he “tripped like a pewit.”
The Art of Letters|Robert Lynd

Now and then I caught the cry of a pewit, or saw a snipe glance up from his bed; but mainly I was busied about the mare.
The Splendid Spur|Arthur T. Quiller Couch

British Dictionary definitions for pewit

pewit

/ (ˈpiːwɪt) /

noun

another name for lapwing

Word Origin for pewit

C13: imitative of the bird's cry

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