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bullfinch

1

[ bool-finch ]

noun

  1. a European finch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, often kept as a pet, the male of which has a black, white, and bluish-gray back and a rosy breast.
  2. any of several related or similar birds.


bullfinch

2

[ bool-finch ]

noun

  1. a hedge high enough to impede mounted hunters.

bullfinch

1

/ ˈbʊlˌfɪntʃ /

noun

  1. a high thick hedge too difficult for a horse and rider to jump
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


bullfinch

2

/ ˈbʊlˌfɪntʃ /

noun

  1. a common European finch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula : the male has a bright red throat and breast, black crown, wings, and tail, and a grey-and-white back
  2. any of various similar finches
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bullfinch1

1560–70; bull 1 (perhaps in sense “bull-necked”) + finch

Origin of bullfinch2

First recorded in 1825–35; of uncertain origin
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bullfinch1

C19: perhaps changed from the phrase bull fence

Origin of bullfinch2

C14: see bull 1, finch ; probably so called from its stocky shape and thick neck
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Example Sentences

Her bedroom menagerie included an orphaned crow, a badger cub, a wounded jackdaw and a whole nest of baby bullfinches.

In Barbados, for example — where Dr. Lefebvre maintains a field station — tourists often see native bullfinches eating remains of food on tables, including sugar from bowls.

The St. Kitts bullfinch also fell victim to hurricanes in the late 19th century, Dr. Wunderle said.

Today, “birds” alone lists woodpeckers, crossbills, jackdaws, crows, robins, thrushes, blue tits and great tits, goldfinches, bullfinches, ospreys, lapwings, oystercatchers, kestrels, a pheasant and several varieties of owl.

I can just hear him shouting to his wife and daughters that “we have a bellowing of bullfinches on the bird feeder, quick!”

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