towhee

[ tou-hee, toh-hee, toh-ee ]

/ ˈtaʊ hi, ˈtoʊ hi, ˈtoʊ i /

noun

any of several long-tailed North American finches of the genera Pipilo and Chlorura.

Nearby words

toweringly, towerman, towery, towhead, towheaded, towhee, towie, towing path, towkay, towline, towmond

Origin of towhee

An Americanism dating back to 1720–30; imitative

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

Examples from the Web for towhee

Two eggs of the cowbird and two or three of the towhee in a nest are common.
Birds and all Nature, Vol. VI, No. 4, November 1899|Various
In neighborly association with the brown thrush is the towhee bunting, or chewink.
Birds in the Bush|Bradford Torrey
The Chewink, or Towhee, called Nahl-tse, was instrumental in procuring the first fire.
California Athabascan Groups|Martin A. Baumhoff
The unmelodious call of a flicker in the pine-tree, and a towhee singing in the distance.
Applied Psychology for Nurses|Mary F. Porter

Still another musician who delights to take liberties with his score is the towhee bunting, or chewink.
Birds in the Bush|Bradford Torrey

British Dictionary definitions for towhee

towhee

/ (ˈtaʊhɪ, ˈtəʊ-) /

noun

any of various North American brownish-coloured sparrows of the genera Pipilo and Chlorura

Word Origin for towhee

C18: imitative of its note

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