sanderling

[ san-der-ling ]

/ ˈsæn dər lɪŋ /

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noun

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

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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

Words nearby sanderling

sand dollar, Sande, sand eel, sandek, sander, sanderling, Sanderson, S.&F., sandfish, sand flea, sand-floated

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sanderling in a sentence

The Sanderling is one of the most widely spread of all the Arctic Grallæ during its winter migration.
Argentine Ornithology, Volume II (of 2)|P. L. Sclater
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
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 note of the sanderling is a soft ket, ket, ket, uttered singly or in series somewhat querulous in tone.
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

/ (ˈsændəlɪŋ) /

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