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Glite Dictionary
Sunbird

Sunbird

1 6.7
A small car made by Pontiac from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s
  • proper noun
  • /ˈsʌnˌbɜrd/
translation icon : Sunbird
  • He has a Sunbird registered in Arkansas and a 4x4 registered in Tennessee.

Examples

  • In the mid-1980s, the Sunbird became popular for its sporty design and affordable price.

  • Miller's car, a Pontiac Sunbird, is parked at the curb.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Behind him, Mike Miller gets into the Sunbird.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Pontiac Sunbird, wending its way through the wooded slopes.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The most dangerous car on the road is NOT the 1978 Cutlass Supreme with lots of Bondo and a 40-year-old drunk at the wheel; it's a Pontiac Sunbird with 4 or 5 teenage girls in it, most or all of whom are on the phone.

    Blog text (24)

  • Mike drove his bright red Sunbird to the car show last weekend.

  • Her family always owned a Sunbird, and she has fond memories of road trips in it.

Surface Forms

Sunbird main

Morphology

Sunbird = sun + bird (semi-transparent) = sun + bird

Formed by combining the clear words 'sun' + 'bird', but the specific sense (a car model) is a product name and not derivable from the components.

Etymology

Sunbird combines sun ('the bright star in the sky') and bird ('a small animal that flies'). Pontiac used the name to make people think of a small, bright, and quick car.