Etymology

wheatear

W4H4E1A1T1E1A1R1

Today it means: Any of various passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe that feed on insects, Full definition →

Middle English whit ers
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wheatear · noun1

  1. Middle English · derived fromwhit ers“white arse”
  2. English todaywheatear

Uncertain. Probably a back-formation from Middle English whit ers (“white arse”), after the prominent white rump of many species. Compare dialect forms white rump, white-tail. Possibly a compound of wheat + ear or white + ear. Attested since the seventeenth century as wheat-ears or wheatgear.

wheatear · noun2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromwhete-ere
  2. English todaywheatear

From Middle English whete-ere, equivalent to wheat + ear.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.