plover

plover
\ \ [14] Etymologically, the plover is the ‘rain-bird’. Its name comes via Anglo-Norman plover from Vulgar Latin *ploviārius, a derivative of Latin pluvia ‘rain’ (source of French pluie, Italian pioggia, and Spanish Iluvia ‘rain’ and related to English flow). Various theories have been put forward as to how it came to be so called, among them that migrating plovers arrive in autumn, at the start of the rainy season; that plovers get restless at the approach of rain; and that some species have plumage spotted with pale marks, like raindrops.
\ \ Cf.⇒ FLOW, PLUVIAL

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Plover — Plov er, n. [OF. plovier, F. pluvier, prop., the rain bird, fr. LL. (assumed) pluviarius, fr. L. pluvia rain, from pluere to rain; akin to E. float, G. fliessen to flow. See {Float}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Plover — ist der Name mehrerer Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Plover (Iowa) Plover (Wisconsin) eine Inselgruppe in Kanada: Plover Islands Sonstiges: HMS Plover, diverse Schiffe der Royal Navy (en:HMS Plover) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Plover — Plover, WI U.S. village in Wisconsin Population (2000): 10520 Housing Units (2000): 4133 Land area (2000): 8.495966 sq. miles (22.004451 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.384034 sq. miles (0.994643 sq. km) Total area (2000): 8.880000 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Plover, IA — U.S. city in Iowa Population (2000): 95 Housing Units (2000): 50 Land area (2000): 0.543496 sq. miles (1.407649 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.543496 sq. miles (1.407649 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Plover, WI — U.S. village in Wisconsin Population (2000): 10520 Housing Units (2000): 4133 Land area (2000): 8.495966 sq. miles (22.004451 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.384034 sq. miles (0.994643 sq. km) Total area (2000): 8.880000 sq. miles (22.999094 sq. km) …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Plover — Plover, Hauptort der Grafschaft Portage im Staate Wisconsin (Nordamerika), an der Mündung des Plover River in den Wisconsin; in der Umgegend Nadelholzwaldungen; Holzhandel …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • plover — c.1300, from Anglo Fr. plover, O.Fr. pluvier, earlier plovier (c.1200), from V.L. *plovarius, lit. belonging to rain, from L. pluvia rain. Perhaps so called because the birds migration arrival coincides with the start of the rainy season, or from …   Etymology dictionary

  • plover — [pluv′ər, plō′vər] n. pl. plovers or plover [ME < OFr plovier, lit., rain bird < VL * pluviarius < L pluvia, rain (see PLUVIAL): said to be so named because it was believed to cry before a rain] 1. any of a worldwide family… …   English World dictionary

  • plover — ► NOUN ▪ a short billed wading bird, typically found by water but sometimes frequenting grassland. ORIGIN Old French, from Latin pluvia rain …   English terms dictionary

  • Plover — For other uses, see Plover (disambiguation). Plovers Killdeer Scientific classification Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • plover — /pluv euhr, ploh veuhr/, n. 1. any of various shorebirds of the family Charadriidae. Cf. dotterel (def. 1), killdeer, lapwing. 2. any of various similar shorebirds, as the upland plover and other sandpipers. [1275 1325; ME < AF; OF plovier… …   Universalium

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