little grebe

1 8.6

Small brown water bird with a short neck that swims and dives on ponds

noun

: zampullín

We spotted a little grebe diving for food near the riverbank this morning.

Examples

She photographed a pair of little grebes building their floating nest on the pond.
The little grebe is known for its distinctive whinnying call during the breeding season.
Look at that little grebe!
I spotted a little grebe swimming in the pond.
We spotted a little grebe diving for food near the riverbank this morning.
She photographed a pair of little grebes building their floating nest on the pond.
I spotted a little grebe swimming in the pond.

Synonyms

dabchick

vslittle grebe

1 9.9

A small water bird with a short neck that dives for fish and insects

is used for the same bird across both Europe and Asia

Podiceps ruficollis

vslittle grebe

Specialized

9.9

A small diving water bird in Europe called the little grebe

is the common English name rather than the formal Latin label

Surface Forms

little grebe singular

little grebes plural

Morphology

little + grebe

This is a simple adjective + noun composition: 'little' = small and 'grebe' = a type of water bird, so the phrase transparently means a small grebe (a small water bird). Such descriptive species names follow common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily derive the meaning.

Etymology

Little grebe is a simple name: little shows its small size and grebe is the kind of diving water bird it belongs to. Picture a tiny bird with a short neck that pops up and dives on ponds, and that's why 'little grebe' means this small type of water bird.