flamingo

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a tall wading bird with long legs, a curved bill, and usually pink or reddish feathers

   Alice struggled to use the restless flamingo as a croquet mallet.

2. 2
   noun

   a vivid pink-orange color resembling the plumage of the bird

   She chose flamingo for the bright accent wall in the studio.

3. 3
   adj

   having a vivid pink-orange color

   The dancers wore flamingo costumes beneath the stage lights.

Simplified etymology

Flamingo entered English in the mid-16th century and may be connected with flamenco, since Spanish flamenco can mean both “flamingo” and the style of music and dance, as well as “Flemish.” The relationship among these Spanish senses is uncertain. The bird’s name was probably also influenced by Latin flamma, “flame,” because of its bright pink color.

Borrowed through Portuguese flamingo and Spanish flamenco, probably from Catalan flamenc. The ultimate origin of the bird sense is disputed. One proposal connects it with the same Germanic source as Fleming, perhaps through an association between the bird's ruddy color and a stereotyped Flemish complexion; influence from words for flame has also been suggested.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary