rock dove
1
3.4
- noun
- /rɑk dʌv/
- Pigeons are rock doves gone to seed and spoiled by easy access to popcorn.
Examples
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Between five and six thousand birds—"rock doves" gathered from barns and granaries—are to be blasted out of the air.
Fiction book (1992) -
The rock dove perched on the edge of the building, bobbing its head as it observed the street below.
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In the park, a group of rock doves gathered around the fountain, cooing softly as they searched for food.
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While hiking, I spotted a rock dove nestled among the rocks, camouflaged by its grey feathers.
Synonyms
1
3.7
A wild grey pigeon with black stripes on its wings that many domestic pigeons come from
1
8.3
A pale grey pigeon with black stripes on its wings that many pet pigeons come from
How Domesticated
Surface Forms
Morphology
rock + dove
The compound 'rock dove' is a straightforward noun–noun modifier where 'rock' specifies the habitat/association and 'dove' names the bird, so its meaning (a dove/pigeon associated with rocks) is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and a B1 learner who knows both words would easily infer the intended species reference.
Etymology
Rock dove comes from the simple picture of a dove living on rock and cliffs. These wild birds later became the ancestors of many 'pigeons' in cities, so the name now means the pale grey wild pigeon.