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

See Examples For:

sacred ibis

Then there are ibis, the sacred ibis of Egypt, truly at home in this splendid sunshine and silent landscape.

From Letters from my Windmill by Daudet, Alphonse

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

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

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

The native companion, the emu, and the sacred ibis are on this creek.

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

"Because I've just seen a sacred ibis walkin' arm in arm with a British cock- pheasant."

From Traffics and Discoveries by Kipling, Rudyard