stock dove

[ duhv ]

noun

1. a cosmopolitan wild pigeon, Columba oenas, of Europe.

stock dove

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stock dove¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stock dove¹

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

Example Sentences

The stock-dove, one of our pretty wild pigeons, nests in colonies in rabbit-burrows, as does the brown owl.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Wordsworth, in all her enthusiasm for Wordsworth's beautiful address to the stock-dove, took the old woman to her heart.

From Project Gutenberg

Inside the sticks were the feathers and part of the skeleton of a stock-dove.

From Project Gutenberg

Among the feathered tribes they mention the “thrush and stock-dove.”

From Project Gutenberg

Among the feathered tribes they mention the "thrush and stock-dove."

From Project Gutenberg