northern oriole

9.1

A medium-sized bright orange and black songbird found in North America

noun
/ˈnɔrðərn ˈɔriˌoʊl/

: oriol del norte

Song recordings helped scientists distinguish between the Baltimore and Bullock's forms of the northern oriole.

Examples

The northern oriole is known for its vivid orange and black plumage.
The northern oriole is known for its vibrant colors.
In spring, birdwatchers hope to spot a northern oriole in the park.
I spotted a northern oriole in the tree yesterday.
The northern oriole is known for its vibrant yellow-orange feathers and sweet song.
During spring, many birdwatchers flock to see the northern oriole nesting in their backyards.
In North America, the northern oriole often travels long distances to find suitable breeding grounds.

Surface Forms

northern oriole singular

northern orioles plural

Morphology

northern + oriole

The phrase 'northern oriole' is a straightforward adjective+noun composition where 'northern' specifies geographic origin and 'oriole' names the bird; its meaning (an oriole from the north / a northern variety of oriole) is directly derivable from the constituents. This compositional, cross-linguistically common pattern makes the term immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Northern oriole comes from calling a bright orange-and-black bird an oriole and adding northern to show where it lived. People once treated the 'Baltimore oriole' and 'Bullock's oriole' as the same bird, so that name was used for the birds we now split into two types.