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Glite Dictionary
🧵 A fabric maker 🐦 A nest-building bird
weaver

weaver

1 7.5
A small bird that makes hanging nests from grass and twigs
  • noun
  • /ˈwiːvər/
translation icon : tejedora
  • The weavers tip upside down at their nests, tiny feet clinging to the hole at the bottom, yellow breasts flashing.
  • weaver nests

Examples

  • You see now why I was worried about the virtues and vices of weaver birds?

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Do tell me why not the termites or other creatures, but the weaver birds are the most renowned builders, according to our people?

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I have discovered I have been living my whole life like a weaver bird.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Is this where the weaver birds release the flowers?

    Zambezia (2012)

  • I decided to make a close study of weaver birds.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Her eyes sought weaver nests.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The weaver birds, too, are magicians and the kings of the Old Testament.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • In the proverbial saying of my people, the weaver birds are the most renowned builders.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The weaver bird skillfully builds its nest using grass and twigs.

  • Numerous weaver nests swayed gently in the breeze, hanging from the tall trees.

Synonyms

weaverbird
vsweaver
  • Indian
8.8

A small African or Asian bird that builds woven nests in groups

is the scientific family name for the same nest building birds
weaver finch
vsweaver
8.4

A small African or Asian bird that makes complex nests from grass and twigs and lives in groups

is the family term emphasizing taxonomic membership rather than casual description

Compounds

orb-weaver
  • Specialized
8.9

A spider that spins round webs to catch insects

weaver finch
8.4

A small African or Asian bird that makes complex nests from grass and twigs and lives in groups

Surface Forms

weaver singular
weavers plural

Morphology

weaver = weave (transparent) = weave + er

The bird is named for its nest-building behaviour, so the agentive formation 'weave' + '-er' is semantically transparent.

Etymology

Weaver for the bird comes from the same verb weave, which means 'to twist threads or grass together'. So a weaver bird is named for its skill at building a nest by weaving grasses into a strong, hanging home.