sanderling

[san-der-ling]

noun

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

Nearby words

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, ear³; for -th, cf. birth) + -ling -ling¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sanderling

In its winter plumage, in which we usually see it, it is likely to be confused with the northern phalarope or the sanderling.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)|Arthur Cleveland Bent
There can be little doubt that the Sanderling migrates by night.
British Sea Birds|Charles Dixon
Indeed for the society of the latter birds the Sanderling shows a strongly marked preference.
British Sea Birds|Charles Dixon
It is appreciably different from the call of any other sandpiper known to me, although not so very unlike that of the sanderling.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)|Arthur Cleveland Bent

The sanderling is a rather silent bird at all times and seems to have a comparatively limited vocabulary.
Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2)|Arthur Cleveland Bent

British Dictionary definitions for sanderling

sanderling

noun

a small sandpiper, Crocethia alba, that frequents sandy shores

Word Origin for sanderling

C17: perhaps from sand + Old English erthling, eorthling earthling

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

Word Origin and History for sanderling

sanderling

wading bird (Crocethia alba), c.1600, probably from sand (n.) + a diminutive suffix, but OED suggests possible derivation from Old English *sand-yrðling, with second element yrðling "plowman" (literally "earthling").