BITTERN

Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family. They were called hæferblæte in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French butor, itself from Gallo-roman butitaurus, a portmanteau of Latin būtiō and taurus. Bitterns form a monophyletic subfamily in the heron family, the Botaurinae.

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bittern

Noun

  1. Several bird species in the heron family Ardeidae.
  2. One species tending to have a relatively short neck in comparison with the other members of the family.

Noun (etymology 2)

  1. The liquor remaining after halite (common salt) has been harvested from saline water (brine).
  2. A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: bittern
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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