whippoorwill

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a nocturnal North American nightjar whose repeated call sounds like 'whip-poor-will'

   A whippoorwill began calling from the pine woods soon after dusk.

2. 2
   noun

   the distinctive repeated call of this bird

   The whippoorwill echoed across the pond throughout the warm night.

An imitative name formed from an English rendering of the bird's three-part call, heard as 'whip poor Will.' The spelling has varied between whip-poor-will and the closed form whippoorwill.

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