drongo

C2 Topic:Animals
US /ˈdrɑːŋɡoʊ/ UK /ˈdrɒŋɡəʊ/
noun Freq #80471

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    an insect-eating Old World passerine bird of the family Dicruridae, typically glossy black with a forked or ornamented tail

    A drongo darted from its perch to seize an insect in flight.

  2. 2
    noun

    in informal Australian English, a foolish or incompetent person

    I felt like a complete drongo after locking my keys in the car.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · an insect-eating old world... Dicrurus
2 noun · in informal australian... foolidiot
Opposites
Word family
Forms drongos
Derived forms drongo-like
Related forms Dicruridaespangled drongopasserinefork-tailed bird

Etymology

The bird name was borrowed from Malagasy drongo. The Australian insult is usually linked to an Australian racehorse named Drongo, which failed to win despite many starts; the horse itself was named after the bird.

Topics

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