robin

¹

[rob-in]

noun

1. any of several small Old World birds having a red or reddish breast, especially Erithacus rubecula, of Europe.

2. a large American thrush, Turdus migratorius, having a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.

3. any of several similar thrushes of the New World tropics, not necessarily having reddish underparts, as T. grayi clay-colored robin, of Mexico and Central America.

Robin

²

[rob-in]

noun

1. a male or female given name: derived from Robert.

robin

/ ˈrɒbɪn /

noun

1. Also called: robin redbreast. a small Old World songbird, Erithacus rubecula , related to the thrushes: family Muscicapidae . The male has a brown back, orange-red breast and face, and grey underparts

2. a North American thrush, Turdus migratorius , similar to but larger than the Old World robin

3. any of various similar birds having a reddish breast

Word History and Origins

Origin of robin¹

First recorded in 1540–50; short for robin redbreast

Word History and Origins

Origin of robin¹

C16: arbitrary use of given name

Example Sentences

With just three round robin games before next week’s championship, Team USA will quickly learn whether its plan to maximize versatility was the right one.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

One could read Crooker’s dismay at the American robin’s thumps and thunks against her windowpane as a rhyme for the name of a certain infamous conman turned populist demagogue.

Read more on Salon

She smiles broadly, her chest puffed out like a robin in early spring.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The review rejected its approach of circulating the names of requesters who had asked the same questions of several departments – a so-called round robin requester – to help it coordinate similar responses.

Read more on BBC

There's also a pattern that even though these are Christmas cards, forget the snowy steeples and robins, because royal cards rarely seem to have any signs of winter.

Read more on BBC