whippoorwill

[ hwip-er-wil, wip-; hwip-er-wil, wip- ]

noun

1. a nocturnal North American nightjar, Caprimulgus vociferus, having a variegated plumage of gray, black, white, and tawny.

whippoorwill

/ ˈwɪpʊˌwɪl /

noun

1. a nightjar, Caprimulgus vociferus, of North and Central America, having a dark plumage with white patches on the tail

Word History and Origins

Origin of whippoorwill¹

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10; imitative

Word History and Origins

Origin of whippoorwill¹

C18: imitative of its cry

Example Sentences

“If we don’t have the right habitat for quail, then we probably don’t have the right habitat for a variety of birds and pollinators — from whippoorwills and goldfinches to monarch butterflies and bumble bees.”

From Washington Post

The composer Nico Muhly remembered the whippoorwill that sang for his family at dinnertime in rural Vermont and how it shaped his early sense of listening.

From New York Times

The valley that was their base, echoing with the call of whippoorwills, remains off limits as well.

From Reuters

You wouldn’t know it from “Walden,” but Thoreau wasn’t just observing toadstools and listening to whippoorwills during those two years by the pond.

From Washington Post

At this time of evening, at this season, in the old days, the whippoorwills would fly in and we would hear them singing in the pine trees, sometimes so loudly they kept us awake.

From Literature