purple martin
1
7.6
- noun
- /ˈpɜrpl ˈmɑrtɪn/
- Specialized
:
martinete púrpura
- She no longer admired the purple martins in flight.
Examples
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For the last two years, the purple martins who live in our backyard box during the spring and summer have returned from their Brazilian winter during the first week of February.
Blog text (22) -
These apartments are exclusively for the purple martins.
Blog text (22) -
Again, it seems, the purple martins have returned to their part-time home at exactly the right time.
Blog text (22) -
The bats were coming out, too, and purple martins swept back and forth like they were stitching together a giant awning.
Fiction book (1996) -
Purple martins are known for their striking purple martins during the breeding season.
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In the summer, purple martins can be seen soaring through the sky, catching insects in mid-air.
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Many homeowners set up purple martins houses to attract these birds and enjoy their lively presence.
Synonyms
A large North American swallow commonly called the purple martin whose males are blue-black
Surface Forms
Morphology
The name combines the adjective 'purple' (a color) with 'martin' (a type of swallow), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it is a kind of martin characterized by purple/dark plumage. While the species' exact hue (male is more blue-black) may not match a literal purple, the adjective+noun naming pattern is fully compositional and cross-linguistically common.
Etymology
Purple martin gets its name from the male bird's shiny purple-blue feathers and from the word martin, an old name for a kind of 'swallow'. So today purple martin refers to this large North American 'bird'.