chewink

[ chi-wingk ]

noun

1. a towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, of eastern North America.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chewink¹

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; imitative

Example Sentences

The lower limbs offered perches where doves might come to rest, finches to chatter, and chewinks to sing; while its hanging boughs and elm-like feathered sides attracted wandering warblers and songful wrens.

From Project Gutenberg

"Out West the chewink calls like a catbird," he observed.

From Project Gutenberg

He is the towhee bunting or chewink, sometimes called ground robin, and in that corner of Colorado he takes the place the robin fills with us, the most common bird about the house.

From Project Gutenberg

With them the blue jays blew trumpets and clanged bells, the woodpeckers drummed and shrieked and crows and chewinks added to the clamor.

From Project Gutenberg

But whatever his lineage, it is plain that the chewink is not a bird to be governed very strictly by the traditions of the fathers.

From Project Gutenberg