DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Plov·er n.
 1. Zool. Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds belonging to the family Charadridæ, and especially those belonging to the subfamily Charadrinsæ. They are prized as game birds.
 2. Zool. Any grallatorial bird allied to, or resembling, the true plovers, as the crab plover (Dromas ardeola); the American upland, plover (Bartramia longicauda); and other species of sandpipers.
 Note: ☞ Among the more important species are the blackbellied plover or blackbreasted plover (Charadrius squatarola) of America and Europe; -- called also gray plover, bull-head plover, Swiss plover, sea plover, and oxeye; the golden plover (see under Golden); the ring plover or ringed plover (Aegialitis hiaticula).  See Ringneck. The piping plover (Aegialitis meloda); Wilson's plover (Aegialitis Wilsonia); the mountain plover (Aegialitis montana); and the semipalmated plover (Aegialitis semipalmata), are all small American species.
 Bastard plover Zool., the lapwing.
 Long-legged plover, or yellow-legged plover. See Tattler.
 Plover's page, the dunlin. [Prov. Eng.]
 Rock plover, or Stone plover, the black-bellied plover. [Prov. Eng.]
 Whistling plover. (a) The golden plover. (b) The black-bellied plover.
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 Whis·tling a. & n. from Whistle, v.
 Whistling buoy. Naut. See under Buoy.
 Whistling coot Zool., the American black scoter.
 Whistling Dick. Zool. (a) An Australian shrike thrush (Colluricincla Selbii). (b) The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
 Whistling duck. Zool. (a) The golden-eye. (b) A tree duck.
 Whistling eagle Zool., a small Australian eagle (Haliastur sphenurus); -- called also whistling hawk, and little swamp eagle.
 Whistling plover. Zool. (a) The golden plover. (b) The black-bellied, or gray, plover.
 Whistling snipe Zool., the American woodcock.
 Whistling swan. Zool. (a) The European whooper swan; -- called also wild swan, and elk. (b) An American swan (Olor columbianus).  See under Swan.
 Whistling teal Zool., a tree duck, as Dendrocygna awsuree of India.
 Whistling thrush. Zool. (a) Any one of several species of singing birds of the genus Myiophonus, native of Asia, Australia, and the East Indies. They are generally black, glossed with blue, and have a patch of bright blue on each shoulder. Their note is a loud and clear whistle. (b) The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
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 Gold·en a.
 1. Made of gold; consisting of gold.
 2. Having the color of gold; as, the golden grain.
 3. Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently auspicious; as, golden opinions.
 Golden age. (a) The fabulous age of primeval simplicity and purity of manners in rural employments, followed by the silver age, bronze age, and iron age. --Dryden. (b) Roman Literature The best part (B. C. 81 -- A. D. 14) of the classical period of Latinity; the time when Cicero, Cæsar, Virgil, etc., wrote. Hence: (c) That period in the history of a literature, etc., when it flourishes in its greatest purity or attains its greatest glory; as, the Elizabethan age has been considered the golden age of English literature.
 Golden balls, three gilt balls used as a sign of a pawnbroker's office or shop; -- originally taken from the coat of arms of Lombardy, the first money lenders in London having been Lombards.
 Golden bull. See under Bull, an edict.
 Golden chain Bot., the shrub Cytisus Laburnum, so named from its long clusters of yellow blossoms.
 Golden club Bot., an aquatic plant (Orontium aquaticum), bearing a thick spike of minute yellow flowers.
 Golden cup Bot., the buttercup.
 Golden eagle Zool., a large and powerful eagle (Aquila Chrysaëtos) inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North America. It is so called from the brownish yellow tips of the feathers on the head and neck.  A dark variety is called the royal eagle; the young in the second year is the ring-tailed eagle.
 Golden fleece. (a) Mythol. The fleece of gold fabled to have been taken from the ram that bore Phryxus through the air to Colchis, and in quest of which Jason undertook the Argonautic expedition. (b) Her. An order of knighthood instituted in 1429 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; -- called also Toison d'Or.
 Golden grease, a bribe; a fee. [Slang]
 Golden hair Bot., a South African shrubby composite plant with golden yellow flowers, the Chrysocoma Coma-aurea.
 Golden Horde Hist., a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th century.
 Golden Legend, a hagiology (the “Aurea Legenda”) written by James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, in the 13th century, translated and printed by Caxton in 1483, and partially paraphrased by Longfellow in a poem thus entitled.
 Golden marcasite tin. [Obs.]
 Golden mean, the way of wisdom and safety between extremes; sufficiency without excess; moderation.
    Angels guard him in the golden mean.   --Pope.
 -- Golden mole Zool, one of several South African Insectivora of the family Chrysochloridæ, resembling moles in form and habits.  The fur is tinted with green, purple, and gold.
 Golden number Chronol., a number showing the year of the lunar or Metonic cycle.  It is reckoned from 1 to 19, and is so called from having formerly been written in the calendar in gold.
 Golden oriole. Zool. See Oriole.
 Golden pheasant. See under Pheasant.
 Golden pippin, a kind of apple, of a bright yellow color.
 Golden plover Zool., one of several species of plovers, of the genus Charadrius, esp. the European (Charadrius apricarius, syn. Charadrius pluvialis; -- called also yellow plover, black-breasted plover, hill plover, and whistling plover.  The common American species (Charadrius dominicus) is also called frostbird, and bullhead.
 Golden robin. Zool. See Baltimore oriole, in Vocab.
 Golden rose R. C. Ch., a gold or gilded rose blessed by the pope on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and sent to some church or person in recognition of special services rendered to the Holy See.
 Golden rule. (a) The rule of doing as we would have others do to us.  Cf. --Luke vi. 31. (b) The rule of proportion, or rule of three.
 Golden samphire Bot., a composite plant (Inula crithmoides), found on the seashore of Europe.
 Golden saxifrage Bot., a low herb with yellow flowers (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), blossoming in wet places in early spring.
 Golden seal Bot., a perennial ranunculaceous herb (Hydrastis Canadensis), with a thick knotted rootstock and large rounded leaves.
 Golden sulphide of antimony, or Golden sulphuret of antimony Chem., the pentasulphide of antimony, a golden or orange yellow powder.
 Golden warbler Zool., a common American wood warbler (Dendroica æstiva); -- called also blue-eyed yellow warbler, garden warbler, and summer yellow bird.
 Golden wasp Zool., a bright-colored hymenopterous insect, of the family Chrysididæ. The colors are golden, blue, and green.
 Golden wedding. See under Wedding.
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