lintwhite

[ lint-hwahyt, -wahyt ]

noun

, Chiefly Scot.

1. the linnet, Carduelis cannabina.

lintwhite

/ ˈlɪntˌwaɪt /

noun

1. archaic.
   the linnet

Word History and Origins

Origin of lintwhite¹

before 900; lint (syncopated variant of linnet ) + white; replacing Middle English lynkwhytte, alteration (perhaps by association with link hill ( links ) and whit ) of Old English līnetwige linnet, literally, flax (or flax-field) trouble-maker, so called because the bird pecks out and eats flaxseed, equivalent to līnet- (< Medieval Latin līnētum flax-field) + -wige, feminine of wiga fighter

Word History and Origins

Origin of lintwhite¹

Old English līnetwige, probably from līn flax + -twige, perhaps related to Old High German zwigon to pluck

Example Sentences

I’m up in the morning early To meet the dawn of day, And to the lintwhite’s piping The many’s the tune I play.

From Project Gutenberg

There’s Gala Water, Leader Haughs, Both lying right before us; And Dryburgh, where with chiming Tweed The lintwhites sing in chorus.

From Project Gutenberg

But hawks will rob the tender joys That bless the little lintwhite’s nest; And frost will blight the fairest flowers, And love will break the soundest rest.

From Project Gutenberg

He had no reason to suppose that this day more than another he would find her, but there, half a mile from White Farm, he came upon her, standing, watching a lintwhite's nest.

From Project Gutenberg

Song I The lintwhite and the throstlecock Have voices sweet and clear; All in the bloomèd May.

From Project Gutenberg