rasorial

[ruh-sawr-ee-uh l, -sohr-]

adjective

given to scratching the ground for food, as chickens; gallinaceous.

pertaining to a bird's foot adapted for scratching.

Origin of rasorial

1830–40; < New Latin Rasor(es) former name of the order, Late Latin rāsorēs, plural of rāsor scratcher (Latin rād(ere) to scrape, scratch + -tor -tor, with dt > s; cf. raze) + -ial

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Examples from the Web for rasorial

Historical Examples of rasorial

Two pigeons and four species of quail are all the rasorial birds in the island; the true gallinaceous birds being wholly wanting.
The History of Tasmania, Volume I (of 2)
John West
There is the same need for a substitute for rasorial, which is only applicable to birds.
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
Robert Chambers
For want of a better term, we must call this the Rasorial type, as it corresponds to that Ornithological group.
Zoological Illustrations, or Original Figures and Descriptions. Volume III, Second Series
William Swainson

British Dictionary definitions for rasorial

rasorial

adjective

(of birds such as domestic poultry) adapted for scratching the ground for food

Word Origin for rasorial

C19: from New Latin Rasores such birds, from Latin rādere to scrape

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