hirondelle
9.9
A small bird with long wings that catches insects while flying
- noun
- Literature
:
golondrina
- In the village, the arrival of the first hirondelle signaled the start of warmer days.
Examples
-
A single hirondelle darted across the evening sky.
-
The poet compared her fleeting visit to a passing hirondelle in spring.
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Look at that hirondelle!
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The hirondelle is beautiful.
-
In the village, the arrival of the first hirondelle signaled the start of warmer days.
-
The poet compared her fleeting visit to a passing hirondelle in spring.
-
A single hirondelle darted across the evening sky.
Synonyms
swallow
vshirondelle
15
2.1
A small bird with long pointed wings and a forked tail that eats insects
is the French or literary form rather than the common name
9.9
An old word for a small bird called a swallow that comes back in spring
is used in French and in literary English for the same bird
Surface Forms
hirondelle singular
hirondelles plural
Etymology
Hirondelle is the French name for the small bird we call a 'swallow' in English, and it comes from an old Latin word hirundo that also meant 'swallow'. So hirondelle keeps the idea of a fast, darting spring bird.