yellowhammer

[ yel-oh-ham-er ]

/ ˈyɛl oʊˌhæm ər /

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noun

a common European bunting, Emberiza citrinella, the male of which is marked with bright yellow.

Chiefly Southern U.S. a flicker, Colaptes auratus, having yellow wing and tail linings.

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Origin of yellowhammer

1550–60; earlier also yelamber, yelambre, probably continuing Old English *geolu-amore, equivalent to geoluyellow + amore presumably, the bunting (cognate with Old Saxon amer,Old High German amaro;see emberizine); forms with -h- perhaps reflect blending with another etymon, later conformed to hammer (compare dial. yellowham)

Words nearby yellowhammer

yellow goatfish, yellow granadilla, yellow-green, yellow-green algae, yellow gum, yellowhammer, Yellow Hats, yellowhead, yellow-headed blackbird, yellow honeysuckle, yellowish

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

How to use yellowhammer in a sentence

Each man wore upon his head a down head-net, a pair of trembler plumes, and a yellowhammer-feather forehead-band.
Ceremonies of the Pomo Indians|Samuel Alfred Barrett
Upon the head was a feather tuft, a yellowhammer-feather forehead-band, two trembler plumes and some down.
Ceremonies of the Pomo Indians|Samuel Alfred Barrett
There have been examples of chaffinches pairing with female canaries, and it has been said with a female yellowhammer.
The Natural History of Cage Birds|J. M. Bechstein
Independently of the beak, this bird may be taken for a female yellowhammer, as it resembles it so much in its shape and plumage.
The Natural History of Cage Birds|J. M. Bechstein

They are about the size of the yellowhammer, six inches and a half in length, of which the tail measures two.
The Natural History of Cage Birds|J. M. Bechstein

British Dictionary definitions for yellowhammer

yellowhammer

/ (ˈjɛləʊˌhæmə) /

noun

a European bunting, Emberiza citrinella, having a yellowish head and body and brown streaked wings and tail

US and Canadian the yellow-shafted flicker, an American woodpeckerSee flicker 2

Word Origin for yellowhammer

C16: of uncertain origin

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