plover

[ pluhv-er, ploh-ver ]

noun

1. any of various shorebirds of the family Charadriidae. Compare dotterel ( def 1 ), killdeer, lapwing.
2. any of various similar shorebirds, as the upland plover and other sandpipers.

plover

/ ˈplʌvə /

noun

1. any shore bird of the family Charadriidae, typically having a round head, straight bill, and large pointed wings: order Charadriiformes
2. any of similar and related birds, such as the Egyptian plover and the upland plover See crocodile bird
3. green plover
   another name for lapwing

Word History and Origins

Origin of plover¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French plovier rainbird < Vulgar Latin *pluviārius. See pluvial, -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of plover¹

C14: from Old French plovier rainbird, from Latin pluvia rain

Example Sentences

Four UK shorebirds - the grey plover, dunlin, turnstone and curlew sandpiper - are becoming more endangered on the red list.

From BBC

You’ll see egrets and herons in the tidal wetlands of the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge and perhaps even snowy plovers nestling in the dunes or pecking for insects in the wet sand.

From Los Angeles Times

Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, monitor the effect of the blasts on such animals as sea otters, bats, western snowy plovers, California least terns and California red-legged frogs.

From Los Angeles Times

Visitors to the beach are likely to spot elephant seals, black-tailed coastal deer and certainly the Western snowy plover, a small shorebird that was recognized as a threatened species in 1993 by the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

An injured snowy plover that was captured did not have oil on it but also died.

From Los Angeles Times