hernshaw

[ hurn-shaw ]

noun

, British Dialect.

1. a heron.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hernshaw¹

1555–65; variant of dial. heronsew, Middle English < Middle French heronceau, heroncel, diminutive of heron heron

Example Sentences

"Passellew" Family—Lady Petre's Monument—Spenser's Age at his Death—Blessing by the hand—Handel's Occasional Oratorio—Moore's Almanack—Kiss the Hare's Foot—Derivation of the World "Bummaree" or "Bumaree"—Sheridan and Vanbrugh—"Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum"—"Alterius Orbis Papa"—Umbrella—To learn by Heart—"Suum cuique tribuere"—Frogs in Ireland—Round Towers—Lines on the Temple—Killigrew Arms—Meaning of Hernshaw—Theory of the Earth's Form—Coke and Cowper, how pronounced—Registry of British Subjects Abroad, &c.

From Project Gutenberg

From hernshaw, still further corrupted, arose the proverbial expression introduced by Shakspeare into Hamlet,— "I am but mad north-north-west, when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a hand-saw."

From Project Gutenberg

—Hernshaw occurs in Hamlet, II.

From Project Gutenberg

Gerard Hernshaw, the acknowledged leader of this elite band, has learned by phone that his ill father has died overnight.

From Time Magazine Archive

"I'm hurtin'," confessed Miner Johnny Elkins, 25, of Hernshaw, W. Va., who voted against the last contract offer.

From Time Magazine Archive