Meanings
plural siskins
- A small green and yellow European finch, Spinus spinus.
I sat there on a bench in dappled shade, beside an aviary full of brightly feathered finches and siskins fluttering about.
2001, WG Sebald, translated by Anthea Bell, Austerlitz, Penguin, published 2011, page 21 more example
Many of these classic methods are still used, with some modern improvements. For example, with the aid of special microphones and automated sound detection software, ornithologists recently reported […] that pine siskins (Spinus pinus) undergo an irregular, nomadic type of nocturnal migration.
2013 January 28, Paul Bartell, Ashli Moore, “Avian Migration: The Ultimate Red-Eye Flight”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016, pages 47–48 - Any of various similar birds in subfamily Carduelinae, principally in the genus Spinus.
Synonyms & antonyms
Spinus spinus
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Slavic*čižь
- Middle High Germanzīsec
- GermanSisschen
- Englishsiskin
From dialectal German Sisschen, Zeischen, diminutive form of Middle High German zīsec, apparently ultimately from Proto-Slavic *čižь (compare e.g. Polish czyżyk).
More words from German, Middle High German, Proto-Slavic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
siskin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/siskin
“siskin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/siskin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “siskin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/siskin.
Source: siskin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.