Meanings
plural curlews
- Any of several migratory wading birds in the genus Numenius, remarkable for their long, slender, downcurved bills.
The corncrake nested in the unmown field Answers its mate, across the misty stream On fitful wing the startled curlews fly, And in his sedgy bed the lark, for joy that Day is nigh [...]
a. 1881, Oscar Wilde, 'The Garden of Eros', in Poems - AustraliaA stone curlew (Burhinidae spp.).
That quivering wail from the billabong lying murkily mystic towards the East was only the cry of the fearing curlew.
1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 16
Origin
- Old Frenchcourlieu
- Middle Englishcurlew
- Englishcurlew
From Middle English curlew, from Old French courlieu (see French courlis), claimed to be imitative of the bird's cry but apparently assimilated with dialectal *corliu (“runner, messenger”), a variant of coureur (the bird is adept at running).
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic كَرَوَان
- كَرَوَان (karawān)migratory wading bird
Catalan becut, polit
- becutmigratory wading bird
- politmigratory wading bird
Czech koliha
- kolihamigratory wading bird
Dutch wulp
- wulpmigratory wading bird
Esperanto kurlo, numenio
- kurlomigratory wading bird
- numeniomigratory wading bird
Estonian koovitaja
- koovitajamigratory wading bird
Finnish kuovi
- kuovimigratory wading bird
French courlis
- courlismigratory wading bird
German Brachvogel
- Brachvogelmigratory wading bird
Greek νουμήνιος, τουρλί
- νουμήνιος (noumínios)migratory wading bird
- τουρλί (tourlí)migratory wading bird
- τουρλίδα (tourlída)migratory wading bird
Hebrew חֶרְמְשׁוֹן
- חֶרְמְשׁוֹןmigratory wading bird
Hungarian póling
- pólingmigratory wading bird
Irish crotach, cuirliún
- crotachmigratory wading bird
- cuirliúnmigratory wading bird
Italian chiurlo
- chiurlomigratory wading bird
Latvian kuitila
- kuitilamigratory wading bird
Lithuanian kuolinga
- kuolingamigratory wading bird
Polish kulik, kulig
- kulikmigratory wading bird
- kuligmigratory wading bird
Portuguese maçarico
- maçaricomigratory wading bird
Romanian corlă, găinușă-de-baltă
- corlămigratory wading bird
- găinușă-de-baltămigratory wading bird
Russian кроншне́п
- кроншне́п (kronšnép)migratory wading bird
Scottish Gaelic guilbneach
- guilbneachmigratory wading bird
Spanish zarapito
- zarapitomigratory wading bird
Swahili membe
- membemigratory wading bird
Turkish kervan çulluğu
- kervan çulluğumigratory wading bird
Welsh gylfinir
- gylfinirmigratory wading bird
Cite this entry
curlew. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curlew
“curlew.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curlew. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “curlew,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curlew.
Source: curlew on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.