lapwing
/ˈlæpwɪŋ/
lapwing noun: any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae.
Noun
lapwing (plural lapwings)
- Any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae.
- Plovers and lapwings are a large, virtually worldwide family that differs from sandpipers in, among other things, having a shorter, thicker, pigeonlike bill and more robust proportions.1986, Steven L. Hilty, Bill Brown, A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, page 149
- The resident tropical plovers have much less pointed wings, and most of the lapwings have fairly rounded wing-tips, a wing shape apparently more adapted to aerial manoeuvrability than to long-distance migration.2010, Des Thompson, Ingvar Byrkjedal, Tundra Plovers, page 36
- The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).
- A silly man.
- This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
lapwing meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Kannada and Punjabi
lapwing in Tamil
- bird belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae
- ஆட்காட்டி āṭkāṭṭi
lapwing in Bengali
- টিট্রিভ, জলচর পক্ষিবিশেষ
lapwing in Kannada
- ಕೊಟ್ಟುಗ, ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ಚಿಲಿಮಿಲಿಗ, ಚಿಲುಮಿಲಿಗ
lapwing in Punjabi
- bird belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae
- ਟਟੀਹਰੀ ṭaṭīhrī
Forms of lapwing
| plural | lapwings |
|---|
Origin of lapwing
From Middle English lapwynge, lapwynke, lappewincke, lapwynche, lhapwynche, from Old English hlēapewince (“lapwing”), from Old English hlēapan (“to leap”) + wincian (“to wink, make a sign”), due to its manner of flight. Cognate with West Frisian ljip (“lapwing”). The modern form is influenced by folk etymology to resemble English wing.
Words formed from lapwing
- African wattled lapwing
- Andean lapwing
- banded lapwing
- black-headed lapwing
- blacksmith lapwing
- black-winged lapwing
- brown-chested lapwing
- cayenne lapwing
- crowned lapwing
- gray-headed lapwing
- gray lapwing
- Javan lapwing
- long-toed lapwing
- masked lapwing
- northern lapwing
- pied lapwing
- red-wattled lapwing
- river lapwing
- Senegal lapwing
- sociable lapwing
- southern lapwing
- spot-breasted lapwing
- spur-winged lapwing
- wattled lapwing
- white-crowned lapwing
- white-headed lapwing
- white-tailed lapwing
- yellow-wattled lapwing
Questions about lapwing
- What does lapwing mean?
- Lapwing means any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae.
- What is lapwing in Tamil?
- Lapwing in Tamil is ஆட்காட்டி (āṭkāṭṭi). See Lapwing meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is lapwing?
- Lapwing is a noun.
- How do you pronounce lapwing?
- Lapwing is pronounced /ˈlæpwɪŋ/.
- What is the plural of lapwing?
- The plural of lapwing is lapwings.
Words near lapwing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: lapwing (page history and authors); lapwing (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lapwing (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-lapwing.wav.
Cite this entry: “lapwing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lapwing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.