purple heron
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of purple heron
First recorded in 1830–40
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.
A purple heron — “rakish, with long thin neck” in the words of the Oxford “Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent” — landed in a clump of water hyacinth.
From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2011
The purple heron, A. purpurea, as a well-known European species having a great range over the Old World, also deserves mention here.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
She was wearing a blue and white silk gown with a handsome fur over her shoulders and a cluster of purple heron feathers on top of her wide hat.
From Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) A Novel by Jordan, Charlotte Brewster
Rather farther away waded half a dozen spoonbills, revolving on their axis at each forward step in their peculiar fashion; a purple heron or two, and sedate storks seeking a feast of frogs.
From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Buck, Walter J.
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.
