whitethroat

American  

[hwahyt-throht, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˌθroʊt, ˈwaɪt- /

noun

1. any of several small songbirds having a throat that is white, especially an Old World warbler, Sylvia communis.

2. white-throated sparrow.

---

whitethroat British  

/ ˈwaɪtˌθrəʊt /

noun

1. either of two Old World warblers, Sylvia communis or S. curruca ( lesser whitethroat ), having a greyish-brown plumage with a white throat and underparts

---

Etymology

Origin of whitethroat

First recorded in 1670–80; white + throat

Example Sentences

O! at his bidding the whitethroat swings In thrillant blue.

From The Dales of Arcady by Ratcliffe, Dorothy Una

Peggy, peg′i, n. one of several small warblers, the whitethroat, &c.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

And after April, when May follows,   And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows .

From There was a King in Egypt by Lorimer, Norma

The whitethroat was sending out his "silver arrows of song" clearly and pensively from the depths of the velvet dusk.

From The Silver Maple by MacGregor, Mary Esther Miller

If the whitethroat eggs were taken from the nest and placed among particoloured pebbles such as are common on some shores, it would need care to distinguish them.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard