lintwhite

9.9

A small songbird like a finch with a red breast and forehead

noun

Archaic

: lintwhite

The male lintwhite is easily recognized by its distinctive red forehead.

Examples

She listened to the sweet song of a lintwhite perched on the garden fence.
Farmers often saw flocks of lintwhites among the fields in spring.
Look at that lintwhite!
What a beautiful lintwhite!
Farmers often saw flocks of lintwhites among the fields in spring.
The male lintwhite is easily recognized by its distinctive red forehead.
She listened to the sweet song of a lintwhite perched on the garden fence.

Synonyms

linnet

vslintwhite

1 9.9

A small songbird with brown and red feathers that sings sweetly

focuses on the male's red breast and forehead rather than the song

Carduelis cannabina

vslintwhite

Specialized

9.9

A small finch with a red breast and forehead found in Europe

is the common everyday name used instead of the Latin scientific term

Surface Forms

lintwhite singular

lintwhites plural

Etymology

Lintwhite probably comes from the old parts lint and white, where lint is like linen and means 'flax'. Because these small finches often fed in flax fields, the name points to the bird's habit and helps you remember it's a small finch called a linnet whose male has a red breast.