nightingale
pronunciation
How to pronounce nightingale in British English:
UK [ˈnaɪtɪŋgeɪl]
How to pronounce nightingale in American English:
US [ˈnaɪtnˌɡel, ˈnaɪtɪŋ-]
-
- Noun:
- European songbird noted for its melodious nocturnal song
Word Origin
- nightingale
- nightingale: [OE] The nightingale’s name, appropriately enough, means literally ‘nightsinger’. It represents a 13th-century alteration of an earlier nihtgale, which goes back to a prehistoric Germanic compound formed from *nakht ‘night’ and *galan ‘sing’ (a relative of English yell [OE] and possibly of gale). Related Germanic forms include German nachtigall, Dutch nachtegaal, Swedish näktergal, and Danish nattergal.
- nightingale (n.)
- Old English næctigalæ, nihtegale, compound formed in Proto-Germanic (cognates: Dutch nachtegaal, German Nachtigall) from *nakht- "night" (see night) + *galon "to sing," related to Old English giellan "yell" (see yell (v.)). With parasitic -n- that appeared mid-13c. Dutch nightingale "frog" is attested from 1769. In Japanese, "nightingale floor" is said to be the term for boards that creak when you walk on them. French rossignol (Old French lousseignol) is, with Spanish ruiseñor, Portuguese rouxinol, Italian rosignuolo, from Vulgar Latin *rosciniola, dissimilated from Latin lusciniola "nightingale," diminutive of luscinia "nightingale."
Example
- 1. The nightingale with feathers new she sings ;
- 2. Mr nightingale is right to point out that segregation can exist without a formal regime .
- 3. But there was nobody to wind the little gold nightingale up , and of course it could not sing .
- 4. The little nightingale said she could sing better in her own greenwood , but she was so sweet and kind that she came with them .
- 5. Some find love with the rose in may and some with the nightingale in june , wrote pakenham beatty .