redstart
[red-stahrt]
- any of several small, Old World thrushes, usually with reddish-brown tails, especially Phoenicurus phoenicurus (European redstart).
- any of several fly-catching, New World warblers, especially Setophaga ruticilla (American redstart), having black and white plumage with reddish-orange patches.
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Origin of redstart
1560–70; red1 + obsolete start tail (Middle English start, stert tail, handle, Old English steort tail; akin to Old High German sterz, Old Norse stertr)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for redstart
Historical Examples
The structure on the apple bough was the redstart homestead.
Little Brothers of the AirOlive Thorne Miller
It was a redstart nest without doubt, but who owned the baby?
Little Brothers of the AirOlive Thorne Miller
Had, then, an owl paid a twilight visit, and could a redstart be surprised?
Little Brothers of the AirOlive Thorne Miller
There was no doubt about his being a redstart baby, as I had been convinced from the first.
Little Brothers of the AirOlive Thorne Miller
By this means Mrs. Pearson last summer found a Redstart's nest.
The Bird Study BookThomas Gilbert Pearson
redstart
- any European songbird of the genus Phoenicurus, esp P. phoenicurus, in which the male has a black throat, orange-brown tail and breast, and grey back: family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc)
- any North American warbler of the genus Setophaga, esp S. ruticilla
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Word Origin
Old English rēad red 1 + steort tail; compare German Rotsterz
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
Word Origin and History for redstart
n.
type of bird, 1560s, from red (adj.1) + start "tail," from Old English steort. Cf. German Rotsterz.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper