stock dove

[ duhv ]

/ dʌv /

noun

a cosmopolitan wild pigeon, Columba oenas, of Europe.

Origin of stock dove

1300–50; Middle English stokdove; compare German Stocktaube; so called because it nests in hollow tree trunks

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

Examples from the Web for stock dove

In the stock-dove this is a better, more musical, and a more varied sound than in any other Columba known to me.
Afoot in England|W.H. Hudson
Among the feathered tribes they mention the “thrush and stock-dove.”
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
Among the feathered tribes they mention the "thrush and stock-dove."
The American Indians|Henry R. Schoolcraft
The stock-dove, one of our pretty wild pigeons, nests in colonies in rabbit-burrows, as does the brown owl.
Poachers and Poaching|John Watson

Inside the sticks were the feathers and part of the skeleton of a stock-dove.
The Swan and Her Crew|George Christopher Davies

British Dictionary definitions for stock dove

stock dove

noun

a European dove, Columba oenas, smaller than the wood pigeon and having a uniformly grey plumage

Word Origin for stock dove

C14: so called because it lives in tree trunks. See stock

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

stock dove

noun

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Origin of stock dove

Examples from the Web for stock dove

stock dove

noun

Word Origin for stock dove