sacred ibis

American  

noun

1. an African ibis, Threskiornis aethiopica, having a black, naked head and neck and white and black plumage, venerated by the ancient Egyptians.

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Etymology

Origin of sacred ibis

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

There was likewise the sacred ibis of Egypt, and one of the Stymphalides which Hercules shot in his sixth labor.

From A Virtuoso's Collection (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") by Hawthorne, Nathaniel

If the chivalric lion be red and rampant, it is rigidly red and rampant; if the sacred ibis stands anywhere on one leg, it stands on one leg for ever.

From Aesop's Fables; a new translation by Jones, V. S. Vernon

Examples of these, and of the sacred ibis and dog, are shown in Fig.

From Flags: Some Account of their History and Uses. by Macgeorge, Andrew

Duck, native companion, white crane, and sacred ibis abound here.

From Explorations in Australia The Journals of John McDouall Stuart by Stuart, John McDouall

The sacred ibis is not found in Egypt, but the buff-backed heron, the constant companion of the buffalo, is usually called an ibis.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1 "Edwardes" to "Ehrenbreitstein" by Various