turbit

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a breed of fancy domestic pigeon with a short beak, a peaked or shell-shaped crest, and a frill of feathers on the breast

   The turbit displayed its short beak and sharply peaked crest at the pigeon show.

2. 2
   noun

   obsolete: a turbot fish

   An older glossary lists turbit as another name for the turbot.

The origin of the pigeon name is uncertain. Turbit is attested from the late seventeenth century and has also meant 'turbot'; some dictionaries connect the names through the bird's rounded, top-like outline, but the proposed development is not secure.

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