Meanings
plural tityras
- A bird of the genus Tityra.
In the scrubby woods that cover most of the Yucatan, suboscines such as the masked tityra, the bright-rumped attila, and the boat-billed flycatcher are all common.
1988 February 26, Jerry Sullivan, “Field & Street”, in Chicago Reader
Origin
Originally a genus name used for the Black-tailed Tityra, Tityra cayana, of South America, referring to the rustic shepherd character Tityrus in Virgil's Eclogues, in allusion to the noisy, aggressive behaviour of the bird.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tityra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tityra
“tityra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tityra. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tityra,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tityra.
Source: tityra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.