limpkin

[ limp-kin ]

noun
  1. a large, loud-voiced, wading bird, Aramus guarauna, intermediate in size and character between the cranes and the rails, of the warmer regions of America.

Origin of limpkin

1
1870–75, Americanism;limp1 + -kin; so called because of its jerky walk

Words Nearby limpkin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use limpkin in a sentence

  • They can run rapidly, having a peculiar mincing gait, that is said to have given them the name of limpkin.

    Bird Guide | Chester A. Reed
  • The limpkin is a singular inhabitant of the more retired Florida swamps.

British Dictionary definitions for limpkin

limpkin

/ (ˈlɪmpkɪn) /


noun
  1. a rail-like wading bird, Aramus guarauna, of tropical American marshes, having dark brown plumage with white markings and a wailing cry: order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, etc): Also called: courlan

Origin of limpkin

1
C19: named from its awkward gait

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012