homing pigeon
3
3.5
- noun
- /ˈhoʊmɪŋ ˈpɪdʒən/
:
paloma mensajera
- Pairs of homing pigeons navigate more efficiently than either pigeon navigating on its own.
- released homing pigeons
- Homing pigeons find
Examples
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During World War I, soldiers relied on homing pigeons to send important messages back to their bases.
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In a local racing event, many participants released their homing pigeons, hoping to see them arrive first at home.
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I know more about homing pigeons than anybody on the West Coast.
Fiction book (1998) -
As homing pigeons it's our duty to transport messages.
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Nobody knows, Ken says, how homing pigeons find their way home.
Fiction book (2001) -
Afterward, Dorothy moved into the top floor of a boys' school, where she kept two dozen cats and even more homing pigeons.
Academic text (2007) -
The scientist explained how homing pigeons can accurately return home even after being released hundreds of miles away.
Synonyms
4
3.5
A homing pigeon trained to carry messages between places
1
8.6
A pigeon trained to return home after being released
How Domesticated
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'homing' (ability to locate or return to a specific place) modifies 'pigeon' (a bird), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a pigeon that returns to its home. This adjective+noun pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, making the MWE transparent to learners familiar with the constituents.
Etymology
Homing pigeon comes from the bird's ability to find its way back to its 'home' even from far away. Homing means going back and pigeon is the bird, and people trained these birds to carry 'messages', so the phrase means a pigeon that will return to its home after being released.