redshank

[ red-shangk ]

noun
  1. an Old World sandpiper, Tringa totanus, having red legs and feet.

Origin of redshank

1
First recorded in 1515–25; red1 + shank

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

How to use redshank in a sentence

  • The red-shank and the green-shank whistled over them at all hours.

    The Secret Service Submarine | Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
  • I darted like a red-shank round the next corner out of sight of both policemen, and looked for a method of escape.

    My Adventures as a Spy | Robert Baden-Powell
  • Also, the gnarled roots of the red-shank make an excellent cooking fire, if you can wait a few hours to have them burn to coals.

British Dictionary definitions for redshank (1 of 2)

redshank

/ (ˈrɛdˌʃæŋk) /


noun
  1. either of two large common European sandpipers, Tringa totanus or T. erythropus (spotted redshank), having red legs

British Dictionary definitions for red shank (2 of 2)

red shank

noun
  1. an annual polygonaceous plant, Polygonum persicaria, of N temperate regions, having red stems, narrow leaves, and oblong spikes of pink flowers: Also called: persicaria, lady's-thumb

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