sanderling

American  

[san-der-ling] / ˈsæn dər lɪŋ /

noun

1. a common, small sandpiper, Calidris alba, inhabiting sandy beaches.

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sanderling British  

/ ˈsændəlɪŋ /

noun

1. a small sandpiper, Crocethia alba, that frequents sandy shores

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Etymology

Origin of sanderling

1595–1605; sand + -erling, representing Old English yrthling kind of bird (perhaps a plover), literally, plowman (compare obsolete English earthling plowman), equivalent to yrth plowing, tilling (derivative of erian to plow, ear ³; for -th, cf. birth) + -ling -ling ¹

Example Sentences

A fourth bird, a sanderling, came in Monday.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2021

This slight book is in verse and drawings, type integrated with delectable black-and-white representations of the prairie dog, armadillo, sanderling, mesquite, whirlwind, sand dune, mirage, and dozens of other natural phenomena.

From Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest, with a Few Observations by Dobie, J. Frank (James Frank)