ptarmigan
Americannoun
noun
-
any of several arctic and subarctic grouse of the genus Lagopus, esp L. mutus, which has a white winter plumage
-
(sometimes capital) a created domestic fancy pigeon with ruffled or curled feathers on the wings and back
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ptarmigan
1590–1600; pseudo-Greek spelling of Scots Gaelic tarmarchan, akin to Irish tarmanach
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Scotland is home to Arctic specialists - birds like dotterel, snow bunting and ptarmigan - which are found high on Scotland's mountains.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2022
Sometimes the groups get lucky and spot a ptarmigan, or a long-tailed weasel in its white winter coat.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 30, 2022
On the Cairngorm plateau, our sole example of the arctic-alpine biome, the ptarmigan – the only British bird that turns white in winter – is gradually declining, with just a few thousand pairs remaining.
From The Guardian • Jan. 2, 2020
Seeing a reindeer nonchalantly munching on berries and grass and a ptarmigan comfortably nestled in a patch of crowberry bushes led me to think the fire was no longer an issue.
From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2018
Arctic foxes and hares and round, puffy birds called willow ptarmigan that were brown in summer and turned white in winter.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
