phoebe

¹ American  

[fee-bee] / ˈfi bi /

noun

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

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Phoebe ² American  

[fee-bee] / ˈfi bi /

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.

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Phoebe ¹ British  

/ 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

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Phoebe ² British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

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

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phoebe ³ British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of phoebe¹

1690–1700, 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. ) 

Example Sentences

The phoebe clicks out his alarm cry and I tense.

From Literature

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

From Literature

In 2011 the Fish and Wildlife Service convinced the Justice Department to file criminal indictments against three oil companies working in North Dakota’s Bakken field for inadvertently killing six ducks and one phoebe.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was, she explained from behind a pair of binoculars, her first sighting of a bird called a black phoebe, which normally ranges no closer to Puget Sound than Southern Oregon.

From Washington Times

Every year for 35 years, we’ve had an eastern phoebe nest under the eaves of our back porch.

From New York Times