drongo

¹

[ drong-goh ]

noun

, plural dron·gos.

1. any passerine bird of the family Dicruridae, of Africa, Asia, and Australia, the several species usually having black plumage and long, forked tails.

drongo

²

[ drong-goh ]

noun

, Australian Slang.

, plural dron·gos.

1. a stupid or slow-witted person; simpleton.

drongo

/ ˈdrɒŋɡəʊ /

noun

1. Also calleddrongo shrike any insectivorous songbird of the family Dicruridae, of the Old World tropics, having a glossy black plumage, a forked tail, and a stout bill
2. slang.
   a slow-witted person
3. informal.
   a new recruit in the Royal Australian Air Force

Word History and Origins

Origin of drongo¹

Borrowed into English from Malagasy around 1835–45

Origin of drongo²

1920–25; probably to be identified with drongo ¹, as a name for the Australian bird Dicrurus bracteata; though often popularly alleged to have originated from the name of an unsuccessful racehorse of the 1920s

Word History and Origins

Origin of drongo¹

C19: from Malagasy

Example Sentences

First and foremost among these is the king-crow or black drongo (Dicrurus ater).

From Project Gutenberg

Almost as widely distributed, but far less abundant, is the white-bellied drongo.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Western Province of Ceylon it is replaced by a drongo having less white in the plumage.

From Project Gutenberg

I have never seen the Dhouli, or white-bellied drongo, perched on anything but a branch of a tree.

From Project Gutenberg

Looking up, I observed, perched on a bare branch at the summit of the tree, a white-bellied drongo.

From Project Gutenberg