phoebe

¹

[ fee-bee ]

noun

1. any of several small American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, especially S. phoebe, of eastern North America.

Phoebe

²

[ fee-bee ]

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a Titan, daughter of Uranus and Gaia and mother of Leto, later identified with Artemis and with the Roman goddess Diana.
2. Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.
3. Literary. the moon personified.
4. a female given name.

Phoebe

¹

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. classical myth a Titaness, who later became identified with Artemis (Diana) as goddess of the moon
2. poetic.
   a personification of the moon

phoebe

²

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. any of several greyish-brown North American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, such as S. phoebe ( eastern phoebe )

Phoebe

³

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. the outermost satellite of the planet Saturn. It has retrograde motion and a dark surface

Word History and Origins

Origin of phoebe¹

1690–1700, Americanism; imitative; spelling by influence of Phoebe

Origin of phoebe²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Phebe, Phebee, from Latin Phoebē, from Greek Phoíbē, feminine of phoîbos “shining, radiant, bright”; Phoebus ( def ) 

Word History and Origins

Origin of phoebe¹

C19: imitative of the bird's call

Example Sentences

They also recognized acorn woodpeckers, a California towhee, dozens of turkey vultures circling overhead, a dark-eyed junco, a mockingbird, an Anna’s hummingbird and a black phoebe.

From Los Angeles Times

Eastern phoebes are an early nesting species and may have traditionally had their first brood before competition from later-nesting house sparrows, he explained.

From New York Times

On an apple bough, the phoebe teeters and wags its tail and says, “Phoebe, phoe-bee!”

From Literature

They pulled off the road and gathered around a cellphone to watch an illustration of an Eastern phoebe’s migration travels over the course of a year.

From Seattle Times

I watched two black phoebes fly away from the ribbons fluttering in their direction, clearly disgusted by my decorating choices.

From The Verge