chiffchaffn.
/ˈtʃɪftʃɑːf/, /ˈtʃɪftʃaf/, U.S. /ˈtʃɪfˌtʃæf/ 1. A bird, also called Lesser Pettychaps ( Phylloscopus rufus), of the family Sylviinæ or Warblers, closely akin to the Willow Wren or Willow Warbler, with which it is often confounded in dialectal nomenclature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Sylviidae (warbler) > [noun] > genus Phylloscopus > species collybita (chiff-chaff)
chiffchaffc1780
lesser pettichaps1843
fig-bird1854
bank-jug1881
sally picker1885
ox-eye1888
c1780 G. White Observ. (1876) I. 409 The smallest uncrested willow wren, or chiff-chaf..utters two sharp piercing notes.
1792 G. White Lett. xi. To Marsham The smallest willow-wren..called here the Chif-Chaf from its two loud sharp notes, is always the first spring bird of passage.
1860 H. B. Tristram Great Sahara vi. 100 Here are the winter-quarters of many of our familiar English birds: the chiffchaff, willow-wren, and white throat hop on every twig in the gardens.
2. The note of the chiffchaff, or sounds resembling this.
Π
1908 Westm. Gaz. 21 Mar. 14/1 They..make their presence known by their cheery reiteration of ‘Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff’.
1909 Daily Chron. 31 May 4/4 The sounds (quite important barks and chiff-chaffs and gurgles and bubbles) that make the emphasis of conversation.
1916 Westm. Gaz. 19 Mar. 14/2 His cheery, oft-repeated note, ‘Chiff-chaff, cheef, cheef, chaff’.
Derivatives
ˈchiffchaff v. to utter this bird's note.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Sylviidae (warbler) > [verb (intransitive)] > make sound (of chiff-chaff)
chiffchaff1884
1884 J. Burroughs in Cent. Mag. Mar. 779/2 The little chiffchaff was chiffchaffing in the pine woods.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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