siskin

S1I1S1K5I1N1
UK/ˈsɪskɪn/

noun

A small green and yellow European finch, Spinus spinus.

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UncommonScrabble 10

Meanings

nounsiskin (plural siskins)

plural siskins

  1. 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 2
    1 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
  2. Any of various similar birds in subfamily Carduelinae, principally in the genus Spinus.

Synonyms & antonyms

Spinus spinus

nounsmall yellow-and-black Eurasian finch with a sharp beak

Similar
Carduelis spinus
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Slavic*čižь
  2. Middle High Germanzīsec
  3. GermanSisschen
  4. Englishsiskin

From dialectal German Sisschen, Zeischen, diminutive form of Middle High German zīsec, apparently ultimately from Proto-Slavic *čižь (compare e.g. Polish czyżyk).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

siskin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/siskin

MLA

“siskin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/siskin. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “siskin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/siskin.

Source: siskin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.