Word.ws English Dictionary

liver bird

UK/ˈlaɪvə ˌbɜːd/

liver bird noun: a cormorant-like bird which symbolizes the English city of Liverpool.

Noun

liver bird (plural liver birds)

  1. A cormorant-like bird which symbolizes the English city of Liverpool.

Forms of liver bird

pluralliver birds

Origin of liver bird

The etymology of the first element is uncertain. Perhaps simply a clipping of Liverpool. However, the word was identified in Randle Holme III's Academie of Armorie (1688) with German Löffler (“spoonbill”), as well as Low Dutch (i.e. Low German) forms cited as "Lepler, or Lepelner, or Lefler". If this etymology is true, it might have been adopted due to the rebus this word made on the name Liverpool. Also compare Dutch lepelaar (“spoonbill”). Either way, the modern vowel in the first syllable is unexplained.

Questions about liver bird

What does liver bird mean?
Liver bird means a cormorant-like bird which symbolizes the English city of Liverpool.
What part of speech is liver bird?
Liver bird is a noun.
How do you pronounce liver bird?
Liver bird is pronounced /ˈlaɪvə ˌbɜːd/ (UK).
What is the plural of liver bird?
The plural of liver bird is liver birds.

Words near liver bird in the dictionary

  1. livenka
  2. livens
  3. livens up
  4. liver
  5. liver and onions
  6. liver bird
  7. liver birds
  8. liver cancer
  9. liver cancers
  10. liver fluke
  11. liver flukes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: liver bird (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:

Cite this entry: “liver bird.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/liver_bird. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.