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redstart

[ red-stahrt ]
/ ˈrɛdˌstɑrt /
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noun
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. 2023

How to use redstart in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for redstart

redstart
/ (ˈrɛdˌstɑːt) /

noun
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

Word Origin for redstart

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
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