Meanings
plural lintwhites
- archaicA linnet.
The mavis, merle, and Progne proud, The lintwhite lark, and laverock loud,
1597, Alexander Montgomery, The Cherrie and the Slae2 more examples
O sweet are Coila's haughs an' woods, / When lintwhites chant amang the buds,
1785, Robert Burns, Epistle To William Simson Schoolmaster, OchiltreeAt midnight the moon cometh, / And looketh down alone; / Her song the lintwhite swelleth, / The clear voiced mavis dwelleth […]
1830, Tennyson Alfred Lord, “"Claribel"”, in Poems Chiefly Lyrical
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsmall Old World finch whose male has a red breast and forehead
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishlīnetwiġe
- Middle Englishlynkwhytte
- Englishlintwhite
Inherited from Middle English lynkwhytte, lyngwhitte (also as Middle English lindetvigle), from Old English līnetwiġe, līnetwiġle (“linnet”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
lintwhite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lintwhite
“lintwhite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lintwhite. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lintwhite,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lintwhite.
Source: lintwhite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.