pigeonn.

Brit.

/ˈpɪdʒ(ᵻ)n/, U.S.

/ˈpɪdʒ(ə)n/

Forms: Middle English pegen, Middle English pegeon, Middle English pegeone, Middle English pegon, Middle English peion, Middle English peioun, Middle English peiun, Middle English pejon, Middle English pejone, Middle English pejoun, Middle English pichon, Middle English pychon, Middle English pygeoun, Middle English pygyne, Middle English pyion, Middle English pyione, Middle English pyioun, Middle English pyjon, Middle English 1600s pigon, Middle English (1700s English regional (Norfolk)) pegion, Middle English–1500s pegyon, Middle English–1500s pygeon, Middle English–1600s pigion, Middle English– pigeon, 1500s pegyn, 1500s pichion, 1500s pidgin, 1500s pigen, 1500s pigin, 1500s pydgyn, 1500s pyggion, 1500s pygion, 1500s pygon, 1500s pygyn, 1500s (1700s North American) piggen, 1500s– pidgeon (now nonstandard), 1600s pidgion, 1600s pigeing, 1600s piggion, 1600s pydgion, 1800s– pudgen (English regional (Northumberland)); Scottish pre-1700 pigioun, pre-1700 powdȝon, pre-1700 pudȝeoun, pre-1700 pudyean, pre-1700 1700s– pigeon.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French pigon, pigeon.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman pigon, pigeon, pigun, pigoun, pijoun, pijun pigeon, nestling, young bird (also in figurative use) and Middle French pigeon (French pigeon ) young bird (early 13th cent. in Old French as pijon ), bird of the family Columbidae (late 13th cent. as pijon ), naive, gullible person (a1488) < post-classical Latin pipion- , pipio young cheeping bird, squab (5th cent.), ultimately < classical Latin pīpiāre to chirp, cheep (see pipe v.¹) + -ō (see -oon suffix). Compare Old Occitan pijon (1428), Italian piccione (1472; compare pippione (a1348; now archaic or regional)); compare also Spanish pichón (1604; < Italian).For earlier use of post-classical Latin pipio in an English context compare the following:eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxxvii. 246 Ham [&] wilda hænna & ealle þa fugelas þe on dunum libbað, & pipiones þæt beoð culfrena briddas. Attested in Britain as a surname from the early 13th cent. (as Johannes Pigun (1211), Thomas Pigun (1260), Thomas Pigoun (1313)), though it is unclear whether these reflect the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word.

I. The bird, or something representing it.

a. A domesticated bird derived from the wild rock dove ( Columba livia), noted for its homing abilities, which has been bred in many varieties of form and colour, and is now extremely widespread as a feral bird in towns.The domestic pigeon was originally bred for food and for carrying messages, and more recently for racing and showing. White varieties are often known as doves.Capuchin, ice, owl, pouter-, racing pigeon, etc.: see the first element. See also carrier pigeon n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon

culverc825

pigeon1375

pigeon1581

cooer1862

mick1940

1375 in A. H. Cooke Early Hist. Mapledurham (1925) 204 Thomas Blont..hath indowed Dame Isabell..with..the thridde pejone of the grete dovehouse.

a1450 Form Excommun. (Claud.) in E. Peacock Myrc's Instr. Parish Priests (1902) 65 (MED) Schal tyþe be payud..of coltus & caluus & pyggus, of gesse, off pychonus.

1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. cviij The gut of a pegion.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke ii. 24 A payre off turtle doues or ij yonge pigions [νεοσσοὺς περιστερῶν, pullos columbarum, Wyclif twey culuere briddis].

1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome iv. f. 53^v On Whitsunday, whyte Pigeons tame, in strings from heauen flie.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. vi. 5 O tenne times faster Venus pidgions flie.

1663 S. Pepys Diary 19 Oct. (1971) IV. 339 The Queene..was so ill as to be shaved and pigeons put to her feet, and to have the Extreme unction given her by the priests.

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 137 At Modena..pigeons are taught to carry letters to a place appointed, and bring back answers.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1858) I. ix. 578 No Frenchman..could keep pigeons, unless he were a noble.

1898 Daily News 5 Jan. 2 Chequered blue dragon pigeons.

1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) xv. 403 The fowl's skeleton is, on account of its larger size, more convenient for study than that of the pigeon.

1986 L. Grant-Adamson Guilty Knowl. (1988) (BNC) 192 The fromagiers and sellers of glistening fish and plump fruits and vegetables had cleared their stalls from the market hours ago and left the place to scavenging pigeons.

b. Any of numerous wild birds of the family Columbidae, typically having a stout, stocky body, short legs, a small head and bill, and a cooing voice, and feeding on grain or fruit. Usually with distinguishing word.Pigeons are generally larger and more robust than doves, but many species have been given both names. Cf. dove n. 1a.bronze-winged, crowned, fruit-, green, imperial, quail-, topknot pigeon, etc.: see the first element. See also passenger pigeon n., rock pigeon n., wood pigeon n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon

culverc825

pigeon1375

pigeon1581

cooer1862

mick1940

1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha ii. vii. 277 To take yong pigeons or yong hawkes out of their nests (or airies).

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Colombe rocheraye, a rocke Pigeon.

1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 77 Columbæ Cavernalis..the Stock-dove, or Wood Pidgeon.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 261 Pigeons or Doves are of several sorts,..as Wood-pigeons, Rock-pigeons, Stock or Ring-doves, Turtle-doves, Dovecoat-pigeons.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 89 I found a Kind of wild Pidgeons, who built not as Wood Pidgeons in a Tree, but rather as House Pidgeons, in the Holes of the Rocks.

a1785 A. Parsons Trav. (1808) v. 137 In shooting wild pidgeons.

1832 J. Bischoff Sketch Hist. Van Diemen's Land II. 31 By far the most beautiful birds in the island..are called bronze-winged pigeons.

1880 Harper's Mag. June 81/1 One and all bore the same story—not a seal, not a wild-duck, not even a rock-pigeon anywhere.

1925 C. Wells Six Years in Malay Jungle App. 227 Certain forms, notably the large black and white pied imperial pigeon, are found only near salt water.

1960 H. S. Zim Guide to Everglades 71 (caption) Audubon painted the White-crowned Pigeon on the Keys.

2000 Leyland's Austral. Winter 22/3 The spinifex pigeons..are often seen in pairs getting ready to nest.

†2. A young dove or pigeon, a squab. Cf. pigeon gull n. at Compounds 2b. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > dove > young

pigeona1400

a1400 Alphita (Selden) (1887) 144 (MED) Pip[i]ones sunt pulli columbarum..anglice, pyiones.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 396 Pyione, yonge dove, columbella.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 55 Had goten two pygeons [Du. twee ionghe duuen], as they cam first out of her neste.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 254/1 Pygion a byrde, pigon, colombette.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 171 Turtle Doues..: the olde ones be not so good, as neither the Pigion is.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. x. xxxiv. 290 As well the male as the female be carefull of their young pigeons and love them alike.

3. A pigeon or its flesh used as food.See also pigeon pie n. at Compounds 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > fowls > [noun] > flesh of other birds

larka1325

pigeona1425

storka1475

wheatear1591

ortolana1667

loom1878

ostrich1955

a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 49 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 108 Peiouns ystewed. Take peiouns and stop hem with garlec..and do hem in an erthen pot.

?a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 58 (MED) Pyionys.

?a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 109 (MED) Mynce þe rostid peiouns and cast the sauce þer-on.

1467 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 399 My mastyr..spent..in pegones, xj.s. viij.d.

a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 144 Of quayle..pygeoun, swalow, thrusche, osulle, ye not forgete.

a1529 J. Skelton Elynour Rummynge in Wks. (1856) I. 128 We haue egges and butter, And of pygeons a payre.

1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) ii. xli. 31 Pygeons be easily digested.

?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 84 Of a dish, az a colld Pigeon or so.

1640 H. Mill Nights Search 238 He wants his capons, pigeons, choice of wine.

1698 J. Chamberlain Let. 2 Oct. (1939) I. 158 Wherein you served two pigeons with one beane.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Oil A rich sort of Potage after the Spanish way, made..with Ducks, Partridges, Pigeons, Chickens, Quails, Sausages, [etc.].

1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper iv. 114 Take six young Pidgeons and skewer them.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Audley Court in Poems (new ed.) II. 43 A pasty costly-made, Where quail and pigeon, lark and leveret, lay, Like fossils of the rock.

1867 ‘Ouida’ Under Two Flags I. v. 97 She..was ‘jolly as a grig,’..so long as she could stew her pigeons in champagne.

1956 S. Selvon Lonely Londoners (1995) 126 Is a long time I ain't eat pigeon, boy.

1996 Independent 4 Mar. ii. 24/3 Unless you desperately crave greasy fried pigeon give it a miss.

4. With distinguishing word: any of various birds, esp. seabirds, that resemble pigeons in some way but are not related to them.Cape, diving-, kelp-, prairie pigeon, etc.: see the first element. See also sea-pigeon n. 1.

ΚΠ

1620 J. Mason Briefe Disc. New-found-land sig. A4^v The sea fowles, are..Sea Pigeons, Ice Birds, Bottle noses.

1694 Acct. Several Late Voy. (1711) ii. 84 The first Diving Pigeon I got..at Spitzbergen.

1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 158 Call'd at the Cape the Hill or Mount Pigeon.

1798 S. H. Wilcocke tr. J. S. Stavorinus Voy. E. Indies II. 31 We saw..the birds called ‘cape-pigeons’.

1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 782/1 In the Falkland Isles it [sc. the sheathbill] is called the ‘Kelp-Pigeon’.

1937 National Geographic Mag. Aug. 200/1 The Eskimo curlew, or ‘dough bird’ or ‘prairie pigeon’, as it was called by the gunners.

1968 J. K. Terres How Birds Fly xiii. 119 A large codfish caught off the coast of Newfoundland had swallowed a black guillemot, or ‘sea pigeon’.

5. A moving target, used in shooting as a substitute for a real pigeon. Also in extended use. Cf. clay pigeon n. at clay n. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > trap-shooting > [noun] > object shot at

pigeon1875

smoke-ball1881

clay pigeon1888

clay-bird1897

clay1909

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1700/1 The rotary motion may be given..by means of a spring..compressed by inserting a pin..in a hole in the pronged axis on which the ‘pigeon’ is placed.

1955 A. Miller View from Bridge (1957) ii. 53 It's a shootin' gallery in here and I'm the pigeon.

1979 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 7 Nov. 43/3 Since everyone was shooting at the small block of wood, it was indeed a pigeon.

2004 Atlanta Business Chron. (Nexis) 5 Mar. b6 Tilson shoots at round, orange targets called ‘sporting clays’ or ‘pigeons’.

II. Figurative uses.

6. colloquial.

a. A naive or gullible person; a fool or simpleton; a person who is easily swindled, esp. in gambling.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe > esp. in betting game

pigeon?1525

vincent1591

mug1857

?1525 tr. G. Alexis Interlocucyon betwyxt Man & Woman sig. Aiij When a younge pegeon a Woman hath gotyn She will make hym at length as stronge as a crane For surely she will neuer forsake hym Tyll that his croper bone wax very lame.

1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 112 This pigeon being not of full age, could not contract it without the consent of his mother.

1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. iii. 187 Nor is Sancho behind him for a Pigeon; both deluded commit equall errors.

1785 M. Holford Fanny III. 256 I am not such a pigeon as he takes me for! I told him I had made a vow not to marry till I was twenty-one, and I'll stick to my text.

1788 J. Cobb Love in East ii. 28 Mush. My dear Colonel, ten thousand thanks. (aside) This fellow will prove a fine pigeon.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. vii. 149 A flatterer may play what game he likes against the pigeons of high life!

1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges iv. 201 He was a famous pigeon for the play-men; they lived upon him.

1941 Sun (Baltimore) 14 Aug. 13/7 These amateur gamblers are the greatest pigeons I ever knew.

1993 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 21 Mar. 10/1 Johnny Rich was a ‘steerman’ who led pigeons, or unsuspecting amateurs, into crooked card games with professional gamblers.

b. to pluck a pigeon and variants: to swindle or fleece a person.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > defraud or swindle [verb (intransitive)]

to pull a finchc1386

to bore a person's nose?1577

to wipe a person's nose1577

verse1591

lurch1593

to grope a gull1594

cheat1647

to lick (another's) fingers1656

to live upon the shark1694

sharp1709

fineer1765

to pluck a pigeon1769

swindle1769

to run a game1894

to sell (a person) a pup1901

scam1963

1769 F. Gentleman Stratford Jubilee ii. ii. 20 Most certainly—we had too many of the knowing ones there—here we shall have well-fledged tame pigeons to pluck in plenty.

1794 Sporting Mag. 4 47 I was instantly looked up to as an impending pigeon..and every preparation was made for the plucking.

1849 H. Melville Redburn xliv. 281 What little money he has, he spends freely; he can not be a polite blackleg, for I am no pigeon to pluck.

1885 H. M. Milner Turpin's Ride to York i. ii. 4/2 It's time to see if these pigeons are worth the plucking.

1922 Times 26 May 5/2 His client was probably the fattest and most easily plucked pigeon that ever flew into the betting club.

2003 Star-News (Wilmington, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 27 Apr. 6 e North Carolinians are no longer pigeons to be plucked.

†7. A coward. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > fear > cowardice or pusillanimity > [noun] > coward(s)

coward?a1289

hen-hearta1450

staniel?a1500

pigeon?1571

cow1581

quake-breech1584

cow-baby1594

custard1598

chicken heart1602

nidget1605

hen?1613

faintling1614

white-liver1614

chickena1616

quake-buttocka1627

skitterbrooka1652

dunghill1761

cow-heart1768

shy-cock1768

fugie1777

slag1788

man of chaff1799

fainter1826

possum1833

cowardy, cowardy, custard1836

sheep1840

white feather1857

funk1859

funkstick1860

lily-liver1860

faint-heart1870

willy boy1895

blert1905

squib1908

fraid cat (also fraidy cat)c1910–23

manso1912

feartie1923

yellowbelly1927

chicken liver1930

boneless wonder1931

scaredy-cat1933

sook1933

pantywaist1935

punk1939

ringtail1941

chickenshit1945

candy-ass1953

pansy-ass1963

unbrave1981

bottler1994

?1571 tr. G. Buchanan Detectioun Marie Quene of Scottes sig. Iij And had it nat bene that the Quene..had..forbidden hir prety venereous pigioun to do battaile, he had fayled to finde..an honest colour to refuse to fight.

1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore i. v. 109 Sure hees a pigeon, for he has no gall.

1727 C. Johnson Country Lasses v. i. 53 I am not such a Pigeon neither to be scar'd with a Goats-hair Beard and a Dagger of Lath.

8. A sweetheart, a darling. Frequently as a term of endearment esp. for a woman.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun]

daughterOE

maidenOE

young womanOE

mayc1175

burdc1225

maidc1275

wenchc1290

file1303

virginc1330

girla1375

damselc1380

young ladya1393

jilla1425

juvenclec1430

young person1438

domicellea1464

quean1488

trull1525

pulleta1533

Tib1533

kittyc1560

dell1567

gillian1573

nymph1584

winklota1586

frotion1587

yuffrouw1589

pigeon1592

tit1599

nannicock1600

muggle1608

gixy1611

infanta1611

dilla1627

tittiea1628

whimsy1631

ladykin1632

stammel1639

moggie1648

zitellaa1660

baggagea1668

miss1668

baby1684

burdie1718

demoiselle1720

queanie?1800

intombi1809

muchacha1811

jilt1816

titter1819

ragazza1827

gouge1828

craft1829

meisie1838

sheila1839

sixteenc1840

chica1843

femme1846

muffin1854

gel1857

quail1859

kitten1870

bud1880

fräulein1883

sub-debutante1887

sweet-and-twenty1887

flapper1888

jelly1889

queen1894

chick1899

pusher1902

bit of fluff1903

chicklet1905

twist and twirl1905

twist1906

head1913

sub-deb1916

tabby1916

mouse1917

tittie1918

chickie1919

wren1920

bim1922

nifty1923

quiff1923

wimp1923

bride1924

job1927

junior miss1927

hag1932

tab1932

sort1933

palone1934

brush1941

knitting1943

teenybopper1966

weeny-bopper1972

Valley Girl1982

the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > one who is loved or a sweetheart > specifically a female sweetheart or girlfriend

lief971

ladya1393

ladyshipa1393

speciala1400

amiec1400

womanc1400

amoreta1425

mistressc1425

paramoura1450

fair ladya1470

girl?a1513

sooterkin1530

Tib1533

she1547

lady-love1568

jug1569

young lady1584

pigeon1592

love-lass1594

lass1596

dowsabel1612

swainling1615

lucky1629

Dulcinea1638

Lindabrides1640

inamorata1651

baby1684

best girl1691

lady friend1733

young woman1822

moll1823

querida1834

sheila1839

bint1855

tart1864

babykins1870

Dona1874

novia1874

fancy-girl1892

girlfriend1892

cliner1895

tootsy1895

dinah1898

best1904

twist and twirl1905

jane1906

kitten1908

patootie1918

meisie1919

bride1924

gf1925

jelly1931

sort1933

a bit (also piece) of homework1945

beast1946

queen1955

momma1964

mi'jita1970

her indoors1979

girlf1991

1592 R. Greene Disput. Conny-catcher sig. C^v [When] they had spent vpon her what they had..then forsooth, she and her yoong Pigion [sc. her daughter] turne them out of doores like prodigall children.

1600 N. Breton Pasquils Mistresse sig. D Who would not daunce vntill he could not stand, That had so sweete a pigeon by the hand.

1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 13 He had left her in the Lurch..And under colour of Religion Courted another pretty Pigeon.

1726 G. Odingsells Capricious Lovers iii. xi. 38 Why, you little pretty prattling Pigeon you.

1796 R. Broome Lett. Simkin Second to his Brother Simon 10 Thou innocent lambkin, thou sweet pretty pigeon.

1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola x. 185 ‘Oh, you pretty pigeon!’ cried Tito, laughing.

1895 Harper's Mag. June 22/2 ‘My pigeon,’ he said, ‘is he not a pauper operajo, an artisan, who slipped in undetected?’

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist iii. 116 Is that you, pigeon?

1992 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 1 Sept. d14 ‘That is my little girl, my little pigeon..’, he cried.

9. slang. Originally: a person who cheats in a lottery. Later more generally: a swindler; an embezzler. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun]

feature14..

frauderc1475

prowler1519

lurcher1528

defrauder1552

frauditor1553

taker-upc1555

verserc1555

fogger1564

Jack-in-the-box1570

gilenyer1590

foist1591

rutter1591

crossbiter1592

sharker1594

shark1600

bat-fowler1602

cheater1606

foister1610

operator1611

fraudsman1613

projector1615

smoke-sellera1618

decoy1618

firkera1626

scandaroon1631

snapa1640

cunning shaver1652

knight of industrya1658

chouse1658

cheat1664

sharper1681

jockey1683

rooker1683

fool-finder1685

rookster1697

sheep-shearer1699

bubbler1720

gyp1728

bite1742

swindler1770

pigeon1780

mace1781

gouger1790

needle1790

fly-by-night1796

sharp1797

skinner1797

diddler1803

mace cove1811

mace-gloak1819

macer1819

flat-catcher1821

moonlight wanderer1823

burner1838

Peter Funk1840

Funk1842

pigeoner1849

maceman1850

bester1856

fiddler1857

highway robber1874

bunco-steerer1875

swizzler1876

forty1879

flim-flammer1881

chouser1883

take-down1888

highbinder1890

fraud1895

Sam Slick1897

grafter1899

come-on1905

verneuker1905

gypster1917

chiseller1918

tweedler1925

rorter1926

gazumper1932

chizzer1935

sharpie1942

sharpster1942

slick1959

slickster1965

rip-off artist1968

shonky1970

rip-off merchant1971

1780 H. Croft Abbey of Kilkhampton (ed. 5) 130 Gamesters, sharpers, money-lenders, pigeons, View the Depositum here resident.

1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners II. 65 The Pigeon being mounted on a very [g]ood horse, flies directly to the West End of the town, where a third man on foot meets him, takes the number from the Pigeon, and goes into the Lottery-Office.

1801 Sporting Mag. 18 101 Pigeons.—Sharpers who, during the drawing of the lottery, wait ready mounted, near Guildhall, and as soon as the first two or three numbers are drawn..ride with them..to some distant insurance office..where there is another of the gang, commonly a decent looking woman..to her he secretly gives the numbers, which she insures for a considerable sum.

1937 News-week 13 Feb. 30/3 The best embezzlers—called thimble-riggers in the old days but now simply known as pigeons—always work alone.

10. slang (chiefly U.S.). A police informer; = stool-pigeon n. at stool n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer

wrayerc1000

wrobberc1300

discoverera1400

denunciator1474

informer1503

denouncer1533

detector1541

delatora1572

sycophant1579

inquisitor1580

scout1585

finger man1596

emphanista1631

quadruplator1632

informant1645

eastee-man1681

whiddler1699

runner1724

stag1725

snitch1785

qui tam1788

squeak1795

split1819

clype1825

telegraph1825

snitcher1827

Jack Nasty1837

pigeon1847

booker1863

squealer1865

pig1874

rounder1884

sneak1886

mouse1890

finger1899

fizgig1902

screamer1902

squeaker1903

canary1912

shopper1924

narker1932

snurge1933

cheese eater1935

singer1935

tip-off1941

top-off1941

tout1959

rat fink1961

whistle-blower1970

1847 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 16 Jan. 149/2 This despicable rogue who has been long used as a ‘decoy duck’, or ‘putter-up’ of crime, and a ‘pigeon’ of certain officers..has at last been caught.

1859 G. W. Matsell Vocabulum 66 Pigeon, a thief that joins in with other thieves to commit a crime, and then informs the officer, who he pigeons for, and for this service the officer is supposed to be occasionally both deaf and blind.

1934 R. Chandler in Black Mask Oct. 14/2 Don't come here again—..I don't like—pigeons.

1976 R. Rosenblum Sweetheart Deal i. 11 For years guarding witnesses remained a..shoestring operation. Rent a hotel room and keep the pigeon under wraps.

11. Journalists' slang. A person who carries a journalist's report from one country to another in order to evade censorship. Cf. pigeon v. 2b.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > journalism > supply of news or newspapers > [noun] > one who carries report to avoid censorship

pigeon1973

1973 Guardian 19 May 13/3 A ‘pigeon’ is someone who carries a journalist's story from one country to another and then sees that it is cabled to the journalist's home office.

1980 Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Feb. 84/1 To get their stories out journalists..can use ‘pigeons’, the journalists' trade name for someone who carries news despatches by hand.

Compounds

C1.

a. General attributive.

pigeon basket n.

ΚΠ

1703 tr. P. Dionis Anat. Humane Bodies Improv'd 437 The Valves are made in the Form of a Crescent or a Pidgeon-Basket.

1886 Times 16 Sept. 10/4 The left barrel..exploded, wounding the deceased who was stooping down by a pigeon basket near by.

2000 Grimsby Evening Tel. 13 July 24 Caistor Flying (Pigeons) Club are looking for a garage or a shed..to store their pigeon baskets.

pigeon box n.

ΚΠ

1750 B. Franklin Let. 23 Aug. in Wks. (1887) II. 206 I had..nailed against the wall of my house a pigeon-box that would hold six pair.

1851 Times 20 Sept. 7/3 She explained to them the position of the pigeon box.

1999 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. (Nexis) 30 Dec. b1 Buck..scented out the closest pigeon box almost immediately.

pigeon cote n.

ΚΠ

1769 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 7) III. 319 The Area of Barrowdale Chapel is scarce equal to that of a Pigeon Cote.

1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. ii. 17 After marching through a..paved area containing a coal-shed, pump, and pigeon cote.

2003 Lincolnshire Echo (Nexis) 11 Mar. 28 Gold and silver would be found near the east wall of the garden, about 10 feet from a pigeon cote.

pigeon dung n.

ΚΠ

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §402 There was Wheat, steeped in Water..mixed with Pigeon-Dung.

1868 Sci. Amer. 11 Apr. 229/3 Wines called ‘champagnes’ are, to our certain knowledge, prepared of honey, chalk, pigeon dung, and even worse materials.

1996 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93 7330/2 Jong et al...analyzed mating type ratios in a tower that was highly contaminated with pigeon dung.

pigeon gun n.

ΚΠ

1824 Times 25 Oct. 4/3 (advt.) Very fine double guns, 2 pigeon guns, pistols [etc.].

1906 Arizona Republican 23 Oct. 4/1 (advt.) Ithaca hammerless No. 2 Pigeon gun, with Krupp barrels.

2000 Philadelphia Daily News (Nexis) 15 July 67 Included in the lots of long guns will be a Parker pigeon gun with Whitford steel barrels once owned by John Phillip Sousa.

pigeon hutch n.

ΚΠ

1844 Zoologist 2 453 A pigeon-hutch fastened against one of the walls.

2002 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 4 Oct. b1 Without the accents, the word is pronounced differently..and has an entirely different meaning (a pigeon hutch).

pigeon roost n.

ΚΠ

1766 R. Rogers Ponteach iii. iii. 60 We've more to do than fright a Pigeon Roost, Or start a timorous Flock of running Deer.

1803 D. Story Let. 3 June in T. M. Harris Jrnl. Tour (1805) 180 I have visited two pigeon roosts, and have heard of a third... One is supposed to cover one thousand acres: the other is still larger.

1914 Washington Post 21 Mar. 6/6 There was a ‘pigeon roost’, where they assembled in such numbers as to break with their weight the trees on which they roosted.

2003 Evening Standard (Palmerston North, N.Z.) (Nexis) 22 May (Sport section) 8 And it's progress that the council recognises the Oval grandstand will no longer be left as a pigeon roost.

b. Objective.

pigeon-eating n. and adj.

ΚΠ

1871 Petersburg (Va.) Index 20 Feb. 1/4 In France it is a somewhat common wager to bet against the performance of pigeon eating of this kind.

1901 Westm. Gaz. 8 Mar. 8/1 The chairman spoke of the ‘disgraceful pigeon-eating contest which has taken place near Leeds’.

2002 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 30 May b1 What a dumb place Downtown is for a 10-inch gray bird to dawdle, with those pigeon-eating peregrine falcons living atop the Gulf Building.

pigeon feeder n.

ΚΠ

1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 258 The pigeon-feeder fills his own mouth with a watery mixture of canary-seeds and vetch seeds.

2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 30 July 3 Mr Croxford said..that the council would first consult pigeon feeders about the possibility of setting up special feeding sites and tables.

pigeon keeper n.

ΚΠ

1854 J. Rogers (title) The pigeon-keeper's guide.

1924 Times 18 Nov. 8/6 The message will be attached to each pigeon's leg in an aluminium cylinder by..the King's head pigeon keeper.

1992 D. Morgan Rising in West iii. Acknowledgements 517 I received help..from DeWayne Rail, teacher, poet, folklorist, and pigeon keeper.

pigeon-killer n.

ΚΠ

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xv. 220 Thus from th' Idæan height, Like air's swift pigeon-killer, stoop'd the far~shot God of light.

1827 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 111 Nane o' your pigeon-killers for me, waitin' in cool blood till the bonnie burdies..flee out o' a trap.

1995 Commerc. Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 14 Sept. 1 ce Another falcon, one that was a particularly efficient downtown pigeon-killer.

pigeon shooter n. (and adj.)

ΚΠ

1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. vi. 93 He detected poachers, black-fishers, orchard-breakers, and pigeon-shooters.

1924 S. H. Coleman Humane Soc. Leaders in Amer. ii. 51 This aroused the ire of the pigeon shooters and the manufacturers of sporting goods.

2002 Independent (Nexis) 31 July (Features section) 25 Then he accompanied a pigeon shooter on a day of pest controlling.

pigeon-shooting n.

ΚΠ

1793 Sporting Mag. Feb. 251 Pigeon-shooting. Embellished with a beautiful Representation of a Pigeon Shooting Match.

1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader ix. 234 Pigeon-shooting, against the practice of which many sportsmen protest..is of lowly origin.

2000 Jrnl. Soc. Archer-Antiquaries 43 103/2 The Red House was known in the nineteenth century for pigeon-shooting and latterly polo.

c. Instrumental.

pigeon-haunted adj.

ΚΠ

1842 A. T. de Vere Song of Faith 207 Pigeon-haunted chestnuts musical.

1915 R. C. K. Ensor Belgium ii. 29 Quiet, pigeon-haunted streets that once surged to the sound of its tocsin.

2002 Sunday Times (Nexis) 3 Nov. (Culture section) 38 Robert Smirke's Greek Revival building, with its pigeon-haunted forecourt and colonnaded facade.

d. Similative.

† pigeon-tinted adj. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1906 N.E.D. at Pigeon Pigeon-tinted.

1917 M. C. Strachey Sketches in Verse 34 On mountains, pigeon-tinted, purple-breasted, Above her tiny lake sweet Nemi lay.

C2.

pigeon drop n. colloquial (originally U.S. Criminals' slang) a confidence trick; spec. one which begins with the pretence that money has been found or otherwise acquired and that the victim can secure a share in it by paying a smaller sum.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > confidence trick > types of

drop-game1785

ring-dropping1788

drop1819

pigeon dropping1850

sawdust game1872

pay-off1915

short con1932

hot seat1933

pigeon drop1937

1937 E. H. Sutherland Professional Thief iii. 67 Among the short-con rackets, dropping the poke (also known as the pigeon-drop) is frequently used.

1991 N.Y. Times 17 May b4/3 In the pigeon drop, the con artists pretend to find a stash of money in an envelope or purse near the mark.

pigeon dropper n. colloquial (originally U.S. Criminals' slang) a person who carries out a pigeon drop; a confidence trickster; also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster > types of

ring-chopper1575

ring-faller1575

guinea-dropper1710

gambler1735

money-dropper1737

ring-dropper?1780

pigeon dropper1858

bunco-steerer1875

1858 Alton (Illinois) Weekly Courier 8 Apr. Thimble-riggers and political pigeon droppers trooped forth.

1936 Dothan (Alabama) Eagle 27 Sept. 3/6 (headline) Pigeon droppers mulct old negro of life savings.

2002 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Nexis) 28 Nov. Be aware of the more traditional yuletide criminals, like purse-snatchers..pickpockets and ‘pigeon-droppers’.

pigeon dropping n. colloquial (originally U.S. Criminals' slang) the action of carrying out a pigeon drop or other confidence trick.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair

charec897

matter?c1225

journeya1352

affairc1390

notea1400

incident1485

concernment1495

actiona1500

business1524

concern1680

job1680

ploya1689

show1797

game1812

caper1839

pigeon dropping1850

shebang1869

hoodoo1876

racket1880

palaver1899

scene1964

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > confidence trick > types of

drop-game1785

ring-dropping1788

drop1819

pigeon dropping1850

sawdust game1872

pay-off1915

short con1932

hot seat1933

pigeon drop1937

1847 J. H. Greene Exposure Arts & Miseries Gambling (ed. 4) 217 This trick is called dropping the pigeon... This pigeon is a curiously-contrived needle-case which opens at both ends, but has but one visible opening.]

1850 Green's St. Louis Directory for 1851 p. xviii Such practice is immensely more disrespectable than procuring money under false pretenses—no more honorable than veritable pigeon-dropping.

1955 K. Sullivan Girls who go Wrong (1956) xii. 128 Elmira became the more proficient of the pair at the badger game—flim flam and pigeon dropping.

2002 Saturday (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) (Nexis) 16 Mar. 11 b There are other e-mails that question my intelligence... They are the electronic equivalent of pigeon dropping.

pigeon egg n. (a) the egg of a pigeon; (b) (figurative) something very small or insignificant; (c) (now chiefly historical) a bead of Venetian glass about the size and shape of a pigeon's egg.

ΚΠ

1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 70 Thou halfepennie purse of wit, thou Pidgin-egge of discretion.

1742 tr. Acta Germanica I. 310 The testicles..were small, scarce as big as pigeon-eggs.

1860 R. F. Burton in Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 1859 29 197 The favourite ornaments are beads, of which the red coral, the pink, and the ‘pigeon-egg’ are preferred.

1962 Man 62 105/1 The rest of the European beads shown in the German list are termed ‘Oriental’, ‘ringlet’, ‘pigeon-egg’ and ‘hollow’.

1999 C. B. Divakruni Sister of my Heart i. iii. 45 In the telling the ruby grew to be big as a pigeon egg.

pigeon express n. now chiefly historical = pigeon post n.

ΚΠ

1836 Times 12 Oct. 2/7 There was a rumour that a ‘pigeon-express’ had brought intelligence that the French funds maintained their prices.

1941 Utah: Guide to State (Federal Writers' Project) i. 133 Salt Lake City newspapers reported recovery of the bodies by ‘pigeon express’, using carrier pigeons.

2002 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 30 June (Bks. section) 5 Three times speedier than the boat, the Pigeon Express lasted until 1898, when it fell victim to radio waves.

pigeon fancier n. a person who keeps and breeds pigeons (now esp. for racing).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons > pigeon-fancier

the fancy1735

pigeon fancier?1755

columbarian1807

colombophile1890

pigeoneer1918

?1755 T. Legg Low-life (ed. 2) 27 Pigeon Fanciers preparing to take long Rambles out of London, to give their Pigeons a Flight.

1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations II. xiii. 218 You were quite a pigeon-fancier.

1995 Independent 4 Dec. 14/7 It is fairly common knowledge that pigeon fanciers do not welcome the return of an errant bird.

pigeon fancy n. rare = pigeon-fancying adj. and n. (b).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons

pigeon fancy1879

colombophilia1964

1879 L. Wright Pract. Pigeon Keeper v. 58 It is almost impossible to make any real mark in the pigeon-fancy without exhibiting in some form.

1998 A. Martin Bilton iii. 35 He's just using the pigeon fancy to get back some popularity.

pigeon-fancying adj. and n. (a) adj. that engages in the pastime or occupation of keeping and breeding pigeons; (b) n. the pastime or occupation of keeping and breeding pigeons.

ΚΠ

1831 Times 3 June 2/5 One of the falco tribe [sc. a hawk] took up his abode in the steeple of Spitalfields church, to the sad annoyance of amateurs in that pigeon-fancying neighbourhood.

1936 Economica 3 473 Hobbies such as gardening, flower-growing and pigeon-fancying enjoy an increasing popularity.

2002 Times 25 July (T2 section) 2/1 Manchester has dispelled the Southern myths of flat caps and pigeon-fancying.

pigeon flyer n. a person who trains or races homing pigeons.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > pigeon racing > [noun] > pigeon-racer

pigeon flyer1857

1857 T. Guthrie City 172 One house filled with pigeon flyers, who were flying their birds the whole afternoon and evening from the front of the house.

1926 Times 29 July 8/4 I have discussed this question of tax on cats most fully..with poultry-keepers, pigeon flyers, and others.

2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 22 May 8 They were a tribute to John who was a pigeon flyer for over 30 years.

pigeon flying n. the sport or pastime of training or racing homing pigeons.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > pigeon racing > [noun]

pigeon flying1827

pigeon racing1872

1827 D. Johnson Sketches Indian Field Sports (ed. 2) 168 This..man spent..his time in..pigeon flying, or paper kite flying.

1934 G. M. Young Early Victorian Eng. I. iv. 236 Regular sport,..like whippet-racing and pigeon-flying, was more likely to be found in mining villages.

1991 Hist. Jrnl. 34 89 Other informal sports included foot races, whippet racing and pigeon flying.

pigeon-hearted adj. faint-hearted, timid, cowardly.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > fear > timidity > [adjective]

arghc885

unboldc897

bletheOE

feyOE

frightfula1325

fearedc1330

fearfulc1374

ferdfula1382

palea1393

ferdya1400

ghastful1422

tremblingc1430

timorousc1450

cremeuse1477

craintive1490

cocklea1500

sheepish?1518

awfula1522

meticulousc1540

timidc1550

sheepa1556

tremebundc1560

timorsomec1600

tremulous1611

pigeon-hearteda1625

affrightful1631

formidolous1656

pavid1656

timidous1658

unsupported1694

tender-nosed1700

scary1773

pippin-hearted1809

kitten-hearted1831

funky1835

misventurous1849

milksoppish1852

tender-footed1854

fearsome1863

scare1885

milksoppy1886

milksopping1888

cotton wool1909

a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim iii. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hhhhh/1 I never saw such Pigeon-hearted people.

1787 J. P. Kemble Pilgrim iii. iii. 33 I never saw such pigeon-hearted rogues; what drum, you fools? What danger?

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxii. 150 This fellow is pigeon-hearted, and light-headed.

1991 R. Anderson Paper Faces xiv. 82 Dot considered her pigeon-hearted father and wondered why she could never recall his face.

pigeon-livered adj. = pigeon-hearted adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > calmness > meekness or mildness > [adjective]

stillc825

tamec888

mildeOE

lithea1000

daftc1000

meekc1325

lambishc1374

meeklyc1375

benign1377

temperatec1380

quieta1382

gall-lessa1398

mansuetea1425

meeta1425

unwrathful1542

rageless1578

lamb-like?1592

mildya1603

milky1602

pigeon-livered1604

placid1614

spleenless?1615

passive1616

unprovokable1646

milken1648

uncaptious1661

stomachless1727

unindignant1789

pianoa1817

ireless1829

unquarrelsome1830

quiet-goinga1835

uncholeric1834

unoffendable1839

baby-milda1845

quiet-tempered1846

turtlish1855

pathic1857

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 579 But I am pidgion liuerd, and lack gall To make oppression bitter.

1785 T. L. O'Beirne Gleam of Comfort (ed. 2) 84 Unlike some pigeon-livered possessors of uncontrolled sway in Europe.

1832 Times 22 June 4/3 If the Duke ever forgives the candid speech made on that occasion, he is more pigeon-livered than we think him.

1998 Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail (Nexis) 29 Sept. (Sports section) p3 b The problem is I underestimated Clay... I thought they were pigeon-livered.

pigeon loft n. a loft in which domestic pigeons roost; (figurative) a high place, a lookout.

ΚΠ

1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 7 The profoundest Cabalistes, who in stead of a pigeon loft, place in the garrets of houses, portable, and commodious Aiaxes.

1735 J. Moore Columbarium 3 A Pigeon Loft ought to be built to the South or South-west.

1891 R. Kipling City Dreadful Night v. 34 Do you mean that you can from this absurd pigeon-loft locate the wards in the night-time!

1996 C. Bateman Of Wee Sweetie Mice & Men iii. 25 It was a millionaire's mansion on the County Down coast, with a covered pool and a tarted-up pigeon loft with white doves.

pigeon man n. a person running a service of messenger pigeons; spec. a person running such a service established in the mid 19th cent. to transmit news of the Stock Exchange between Paris and London.

ΚΠ

1846 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 10 Jan. 28/1 In 1837–38–39, and 1840, a great deal of money was made by the ‘pigeon men’, as the speculators supposed to have possession of such intelligence are familiarly termed.

1903 Westm. Gaz. 2 Dec. 12/2 Those London Stock Exchange celebrities of the thirties, the ‘pigeon men’. They established a service of pigeons between London and Paris.

2002 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 7 Oct. 12 The remarkable pigeon man who instigated the service.

† pigeon marl n. Obsolete marl having a coloration resembling that of a pigeon's neck.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > marl > other marls

pigeon marl1601

paper-marl1707

toad-marl1764

rock marl1772

earth-marl1803

wichert1912

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 506 The Columbine marle, the Gauls call in their language..Pelias (Doue or Pigeon marle).

1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. x. 32 Columbine or Pidgeon Marle lies in lumpes and cloddes.

1778 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 13 Here was a bed of this pigeon marle.

pigeon match n. now rare a contest to shoot pigeons released from traps at a fixed distance from the competitors.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > trap-shooting > [noun] > contest

pigeon match1810

trap-match1895

skeet shoot1926

trapshoot1926

skeet championship1942

skeet contest1952

skeet match1970

1810 Sporting Mag. 35 140 A pigeon match for a stake of 200 guineas.

1904 W. D. Howells Let. 18 Mar. in Sel. Lett. (1983) V. 88 We saw..a pigeon match: the poor creatures untrapped,..then springing into the air, and brought down by the guns.

1956 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 1 June 11/1 (headline) 10 perfect shooters in live pigeon match.

pigeon pie n. a pie made with pigeon meat.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > pastry > pie > [noun] > pie with fowls

pigeon pie1575

chicken pie1584

turkey-tomba1640

goose-pie1714

partridge pie1723

rook pie1738

pâté de foie gras1814

Strasbourg pie1838

1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxxv. 92 Colde loynes of Ueale,..With Pygeon pyes, and Mutton colde, are set on hunger loose.

1646 H. Mill 2nd Pt. Nights Search v. 31 Dame Lopas sent the Brewers Clark..With a Pigeon-pie.

1779 J. Woodforde Diary 15 Apr. (1924) I. 249 We had for dinner..a Pidgeon Pye.

1843 Ainsworth's Mag. 4 13 Swallowing a morsel of foie gras as uncognizantly as though it had been pigeon-pie.

1997 Countryman Spring 188/2 (advt.) Singin Hinnies, Pigeon Pie, Pease Pudding, Stotties and Fruit Cake..are some of the 25 recipes.

pigeon post n. now chiefly historical a postal system using homing pigeons to convey letters, dispatches, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun] > types of service > conveyance of mail by pigeon

pigeon post1819

1819 Times 19 July 2/5 Last year several gentlemen conceived the project of establishing a pigeon post between France and England.

1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 661/2 Photographing forts and positions of troops, and sending the films by means of pigeon-post to be developed and printed at headquarters.

1975 Times 15 Mar. 14/7 It will cost 7p to have a first-class letter delivered... To set up a pigeon post is remarkably cheap and easy.

1990 Stamp Monthly Mar. 31/1 The message of victory in the Battle of Waterloo was sent from Waterloo to London by pigeon post.

† pigeon-poult n. Obsolete rare a young pigeon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon > young

dove-birdc1200

culver-bird1382

peepera1586

squab1694

dovelet1825

pigeon-poult1885

piper1885

1885 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. II. xxxix. 50 On the night of the consummation they cut the throat of a pigeon-poult.

pigeon racing adj. and n. (a) adj. that races pigeons; (b) n. a sport in which homing pigeons are released at a distance from their homes, the winner being the first recorded returning to its loft.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > pigeon racing > [noun]

pigeon flying1827

pigeon racing1872

1872 Ohio Democrat (New Philadelphia, Ohio) 5 Jan. He anticipated orders from famous pigeon racing stock in Europe, where famous flyers are appreciated.

1926 ‘Squills’ (title) Secrets of long-distance pigeon racing.

1996 Independent 1 Apr. 9/8 Pigeon racing is an obsessional hobby.

pigeon room n. now rare a room in which domestic pigeons are kept.

ΚΠ

1647 J. Cleveland Char. London-diurnall 2 Like to a martyr'd Abbeys courser doome, Devoutly altered to a Pigeon roome.

1895 Decatur (Illinois) Daily Republican 28 Dec. 2/3 Put up a cheap monument back in the pigeon room.

1949 Geogr. Rev. 39 583 Only the cooking and sleeping area..a part of the stable and chicken room, and the entire pigeon room are covered.

pigeon ruby red n. and adj. = pigeon's blood n. and adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [noun] > shades of red > deep red or crimson

crimson madderOE

purpureOE

murrey1305

tuly1398

oxblood?1440

crimson?a1475

sanguinea1500

carnation?1533

murrey colour1537

purple-red1565

ruby1572

sanguine red1601

velvet-crimson1646

lake1660

lac1682

rubine1704

madder red1728

ruby-red1738

granate1750

palm-colour1773

morone1777

carmine1799

vinaceous1819

incarnadine1821

crimsoning1833

pigeon's blood1865

solferinoc1865

Burgundy1881

sang-de-bœuf1881

vermilion-crimson1882

claret1884

royal red1890

wine1895

pigeon ruby red1897

Bordeaux1904

peony1914

madder crimson1991

1897 Daily News 23 Feb. 6/2 Colour shades ranging from..pale rose to intense pigeon ruby red.

1930 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 30 Aug. 9/7 A pigeon ruby red velvet coat lined with gray.

pigeon salt n. rare (now historical) a deposit of salt on the outside of a cooking vessel, caused by salt water leaking out from inside and being evaporated.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > additive > salt > [noun] > types of salt

salt-stonea1000

saltc1000

white saltOE

bay-salt1465

rock salt1562

salt upon salt1580

mineral salt1600

sea salt1601

French salt1617

verge-salt1656

table salt1670

pigeon salt1679

salt-cakec1702

tamarisk salt1712

cat-salt1724

butter salt1749

basket-salt1753

Sunday salt1756

rock1807

stoved salt1808

solar salt1861

fishery-salt1883

gros sel1917

1679 Philos. Trans. 1677 (Royal Soc.) 12 1063 A fift sort is Pigeon Salt, which is nothing but the Brine running out through the crack of a Phat, and hardens to a clod on the outside over the fire.

2000 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 24 June 54 In the 17th Century (when such a pricing policy was fully operational) you could buy..‘pigeon salt’, formed where the pan leaked.

pigeon shot n. (a) a small size of shot used for shooting pigeons; (b) a person skilled in shooting pigeons.

ΚΠ

1682 T. Newe Let. 23 Aug. in A. S. Salley Narr. of Early Carolina (1911) 187 2 C [sc. hundredweight] of pigeon shot.

1726 N. Uring Hist. Voy. & Trav. 286 Small Balls about the Bigness of Pidgeon Shot.

1870 Times 2 May 12/2 Captain J. J. W. Fredricks, a well-known pigeon shot, and a member of the committee of the Gun Club.

1902 Indiana (Pa.) Weekly Messenger 23 Apr. The folly of trying to kill a panther with pigeon shot never occurred to me.

1997 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 14 Sept. (Spectrum section) 6 She is the widow of that legendary professional pigeon shot Archie Coats.

† pigeon-stand n. Obsolete a standing-place from which pigeons are shot.

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1844 Knickerbocker Mag. 24 28 There too is a pigeon-stand, built for murderous purposes; and there too is the booth of pine-branches erected to conceal the sportsman.

1866 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 270/2 The days of the bough-house and pigeon-stand strewn with barley seem to have gone by.

1882 N. Cleaveland & A. S. Packard Hist. Bowdoin Coll. 97 He was noted for his pigeon stand and booth of brush, and his game.

pigeon-tailed adj. now chiefly historical designating a coat with a spreading tail.

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1857 Ladies' Repository June 331/1 An ‘old-time’ school ‘master’..with his pigeon-tailed coat.

1901 W. Churchill Crisis ii. ix. 202 The red pigeon-tailed coat.

2004 L. Kleypas Again the Magic ii. 20 Black plush breeches, a mustard-colored waistcoat, and a blue pigeon-tailed coat.

pigeon toe n. a toe which turns inwards; usually in plural; cf. pigeon-toed adj.

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the world > health and disease > ill health > deformity > deformities of specific parts > [noun] > of foot > foot

splay-foot1548

stump foota1568

polt-foot1578

club-foot1683

bumble foot1832

reel foot1835

pigeon toe1888

clump-foot1922

rocker foot1934

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at Pigeon-toed Bow-legs and pigeon-toes usually go together.

1992 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 2 May f3/4 ‘Duck feet? You're out. Pigeon toes? Out,’ Hao says, reeling off a long list of unacceptable flaws.

pigeon tower n. a tower in which domestic pigeons roost.

ΚΠ

1855 R. Burton Meccah I. iii. 45 Solitary huts, pigeon-towers, or watch-turrets.

1930 A. U. Pope Introd. Persian Art (1931) ix. 206 There are decorative battlements or even corner towers, pigeon towers being a fairly common feature.

2001 Sunday Express (Nexis) 17 June (Property section) 43 There is an unrestored pigeon tower with beamed ceilings and terracotta floors throughout.

b. In names of plants and animals.

pigeon cherry n. U.S. = pin cherry n. at pin n.¹ Compounds 2.

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1850 New Eng. Farmer 2 160/1 The small, red wild cherry, often called the pigeon cherry,..very much resembles some of our cultivated varieties.

1998 Townsend Let. Doctors & Patients (Nexis) Nov. 46 Briante's ‘cancer cure’ for example was spikenard.., white vervaine, pigeon cherry, white pine bark, and sweet cicely.

pigeon diver n. †(a) the black guillemot, Cepphus grylle (obsolete); (b) U.S. the little auk, Alle alle.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Alcidae (auks) > [noun] > cepphus grylle (black guillemot)

sea-pigeon1620

sea turtle-dove1676

Greenland-dove1678

Greenland dove1678

sea-turtle1678

diving-pigeon1694

pigeon diver1694

scraber1698

puffineta1705

Greenland turtle?1787

tinkershere1799

dovekie1819

1694 tr. F. Martens Voy. Spitzbergen 79 in Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. The Pigeon-diver..one of the beautifullest Birds of Spitzbergen.

1839 D. H. Storer & W. P. O. Peabody Rep. Fishes, Reptiles & Birds Mass. 400 The Little Guillemot, Uria alle, sometimes called the Little Auk or Pigeon Diver.

1955 Amer. Speech 30 181 Pigeon diver (dovekie, New Brunswick, Mass.).

pigeon fieldfare n. British regional (now rare) the fieldfare, Turdus pilaris.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus pilaris (fieldfare)

fieldfareOE

juniper1598

storm cock1769

pigeon fieldfare1812

bluetail1836

jack bird1861

felt1879

1812 W. B. Daniel Rural Sports III. 151 The Fieldfare..is by some called the Pigeon Fieldfare.

1834 R. Barham Cousin Nicholas xvii, in Blackwood's Mag. Dec. 796/2 A flight of pigeon-fieldfares..alighted among the berries of the shrubbery.

1892 D. Jordan Within Hour of London vi. 103 In our young days we used to shoot..two varieties of fieldfares, the fieldfare common, and what we in our juvenile fashion called the pigeon fieldfare, or felt.

1907 R. J. Balston et al. Notes Birds Kent 10 Fieldfare. Turdus pilarus, Linnæus... Felt, and Pigeon-Fieldfare.

1938 J. Walpole-Bond & P. Rickman Hist. Sussex Birds Index 377 Pigeon-Fieldfare (Fieldfare).

pigeon-foot n. †(a) = pigeon's-foot n. (a) at Compounds 3 (obsolete); (b) U.S. a glasswort, esp. Salicornia europaea.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > geranium and allied flowers > allied flowers

herb Roberta1300

stick pile?a1450

culverfootc1450

devil's needlea1500

crane's-bill1548

dove's-foot1548

geranium1548

shepherd's needle1562

bloodroot1578

Gratia Dei1578

sanguine root1578

pigeon's-foot1597

Roman cranesbill1648

robin1694

redshanka1722

musk1728

ragged Robert1734

pigeon-foot1736

rose geranium1773

mountain flowera1787

wood cranesbill1796

peppermint-scented geranium1823

stork's bill1824

wild geranium1840

musk geranium1845

pin grass1847

Robert1847

stinking crane's bill1857

mourning widow1866

pinweed1876

ivy-leaved pelargonium1887

ivy-geranium1894

regal1894

peppermint geranium1922

1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ Pigeon foot (an herb), Geranium, pes columbinus.

1976 Hortus Third (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 995/1 S[alicornia] europaea L. Samphire, chicken-claws, pigeon-foot.

† pigeon-goose n. Obsolete rare the cereopsis goose, Cereopsis novaehollandiae.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > [noun] > member of subfamily Anserinea (goose) > genus Cereopsis (Cape Barren goose)

Cape Barren goose1843

pigeon-goose1890

1890 Cent. Dict. at Cereopsis There is but one species..called the pigeon-goose.

pigeon grass n. chiefly U.S. any of several kinds of bristle grass (genus Setaria), which are serious arable weeds; esp. yellow bristle grass, S. glauca, and green bristle grass, S. viridis.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > bristle-grass

kneed grass1597

knee-grass1706

pigeon grass1838

bristle-grass1841

pigeon millet1948

1838 H. Colman 1st Rep. Agric. Mass. (Mass. Agric. Surv.) 128 There were several patches of black or pigeon grass when the dyke was built.

1926 F. W. Hilgendorf Weeds N.Z. facing p. 17 (caption) Pigeon grass (Setaria glauca).

2002 Pioneer Press (SE. Minnesota) (Nexis) 25 Aug. 2 d Rich's flax field had a serious pigeon grass infestation.

pigeon guillemot n. a mainly black guillemot, Cepphus columba, of the North Pacific; also called sea pigeon.

ΚΠ

1862 J. Richardson et al. Museum Nat. Hist. 32 211/1 Pigeon Guillemot (Uria columba).—Habitat, North Pacific.

1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 24/1 The Pigeon Guillemot is ‘unquestionably the most characteristic water-bird of the Puget Sound region’.

2003 Canad. Geographic Mar. 84/2 Watt observes the extraordinary passing parade: shearwaters.., common murres, pigeon guillemots and..glaucous-winged gulls.

pigeon gull n. (a) any of various gulls; †(b) English regional a young gull (obsolete); †(c) U.S. regional a young black tern, Chlidonias nigra (obsolete).

ΚΠ

1861 H. W. Wheelwright Bush Wanderings of Naturalist ix. 172 Of the gulls, I could only identify three species in our district: the great black-backed gull, the lesser blackbacked gull, and the common, or, as we called it, the pigeon-gull, with a white eye.

1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 496/2 Pigeon-gull, a young gull.

1917 Wilson Bull. 29 76 Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis.—Adult is black striker, young, pigeon gull, Wallops I[slan]d, Va.

1968 C. E. Jackson Brit. Names Birds 32 Black-headed gull... pigeon gull Yorks.

pigeon millet n. U.S. (rare) = pigeon grass n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > bristle-grass

kneed grass1597

knee-grass1706

pigeon grass1838

bristle-grass1841

pigeon millet1948

1948 A. L. Blomquist Grasses N. Carolina 186 One species (S[etaria] viridis) known as ‘pigeon millet’ or ‘foxtail’ is an obnoxious weed in cultivated ground in some of the Northern states.

pigeontail n. [in allusion to the long pointed tail of the passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius (see e.g. quot. 1955] U.S. the pintail duck, Anas acuta.

ΚΠ

1848 ‘F. Forester’ Field Sports U.S. & Brit. Provinces Amer. I. 41 Anas Acuta, vulg. Sprig Tail, Pigeon Tail.

1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 128 Pintail. Dafila acuta... Other Names.—Male: Sprig-tail..; Kite-tail; Pigeon-tail; Pheasant-dock.

1955 Amer. Speech 30 182 Pigeontail (Fla., Mich., Ill., Minn.) and pigeon duck (Iowa) doubtless trace to the extinct passenger pigeon, which had a long tail.

pigeon tick n. any of various ticks that occur on pigeons, spec. Argas reflexus.

ΚΠ

1902 Webster's Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Suppl. Pigeon-tick. (a) A parasitic mite (Argas reflexus) found on pigeons. (b) The common bird mite.

1977 G. Vevers tr. H. Mourier & O. Winding Collins Guide Wild Life House & Home 36/2 Pigeon ticks, which occur particularly in dovecotes, have similar habits to poultry mites.

2001 Pest Control (Nexis) 1 Oct. 40 The pigeon tick (Argas reflexus) is considered a soft tick, which refers to its soft body.

pigeonweed n. U.S. (a) spikenard, Aralia racemosa; (b) either of two weeds, corn gromwell, Lithospermum arvense, and Mexican clover, Richardia scabra (now rare).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Araliaceae family or plants > [noun]

panax?a1200

petit morelc1425

aralia1756

petty morel1778

pigeonweed1785

shot-bush1785

ginseng1818

1785 M. Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1 431 Aralia... Berry-Bearing Angelica. Shot Bush. Pigeon Weed. Blossoms white. Berries black. Common in new plantations.

1854 Trans. Michigan Agric. Soc. 6 468 A still more troublesome weed, the ‘Pigeon Weed’,..is making its appearance among us.

1874 in G. Vasey Agric. Grasses U.S. (1889) 104 The plant is known here by the name of ‘Mexican clover’, ‘poor toes’, or ‘pigeon weed’.

c1935 W. C. L. Muenscher Weeds (1943) 384 Lithospermum arvense..Stone seed, Puccoon, Pigeon-weed.

1993 T. Coffey Hist. & Folklore N. Amer. Wildflowers 152/2 Spikenard, Aralia racemosa... Pettymorell (Mass, N.H.), Pigeonweed, Spiceberry, Spicebush (Conn.).

pigeon woodpecker n. U.S. the northern flicker, Colaptes auratus.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Colaptes (flicker) > colaptes auratus (golden-wing)

goldenwing1785

high-hole1808

high-holder1813

yellow-shafted woodpecker1822

yellowhammer1826

pigeon woodpecker1844

wake-up1844

yellow-shafted flicker1855

1844 J. E. De Kay Zool. N.-Y. ii. 192 This species..is called Highhole, Yucker, Flicker, Wake-up and Pigeon Woodpecker..in this State.

1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. II. 163 Flicker. Colaptes auratus auratus... Clape; Pigeon Woodpecker; Yellowhammer.

2002 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (Nexis) 9 June f1 Other colloquial monikers include golden-winged woodpecker.., pigeon woodpecker, wick-up and yawker-bird.

C3. Compounds with pigeon's.

pigeon's egg n. = pigeon egg n. at Compounds 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > egg > [noun] > type of

addle eggc1275

goose-eggc1394

wind-egg1398

pigeon's egg1651

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon > parts of

pigeon's egg1651

gravel eye1855

1651 J. French tr. J. R. Glauber Descr. New Philos. Furnaces 70 There found a kinde of stones, round or oval in form, and in bigness like unto a pigeons or hens-egg.

1747 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 44 452 It differs in Magnitude, as it does in Figure, from the Bulk of a Pigeon's Egg up to four or five times that Size.

1890 Cent. Dict. at Pigeon Pigeon's egg, a bead of Venetian glass, the form and size of which give rise to the name. Such beads were produced as early as the fifteenth century, and very ancient ones are preserved.

1996 Observer (Nexis) 16 June 7 Pigeons' eggs, snatched from nests overlooking Trafalgar Square.

† pigeon's-foot n. [compare French pied de pigeon (1611 in Cotgrave)] Obsolete (a) either of two cranesbills, dove's-foot cranesbill, Geranium molle, and long-stalked cranesbill, G. columbinum; also pigeon's-foot cranesbill; (b) U.S. = pigeon-foot n. (b) at Compounds 2b.

ΘΚΠ

herb Roberta1300

stick pile?a1450

culverfootc1450

devil's needlea1500

crane's-bill1548

dove's-foot1548

geranium1548

shepherd's needle1562

bloodroot1578

Gratia Dei1578

sanguine root1578

pigeon's-foot1597

Roman cranesbill1648

robin1694

redshanka1722

musk1728

ragged Robert1734

pigeon-foot1736

rose geranium1773

mountain flowera1787

wood cranesbill1796

peppermint-scented geranium1823

stork's bill1824

wild geranium1840

musk geranium1845

pin grass1847

Robert1847

stinking crane's bill1857

mourning widow1866

pinweed1876

ivy-leaved pelargonium1887

ivy-geranium1894

regal1894

peppermint geranium1922

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 793 Commonly called in Latine Pes Columbinus..it may be called..in English Doues foote, and Pigeons foote.

1843 J. Torrey Flora State N.Y. II. 140 Salicornia mucronata... This and the preceding species are sometimes made into pickles. They are often called Samphire, or pigeon's-foot.

1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 199 Geranium columbinum, Long-stalked Geranium, Pigeon's-foot Crane's-bill.

pigeon's grass n. [compare Hellenistic Greek περιστέριον a kind of verbena < ancient Greek περιστερά pigeon (see peristerite n.)] common vervain, Verbena officinalis.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > vervain

berbineeOE

ironhardOE

vervain?a1300

verbena?a1425

columbinec1450

holy herb1567

Juno's tears1597

pigeon's grass1597

simpler's joy1754

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 581 Veruain is called..in English..of some Pigeons grasse, or Columbine, bicause Pigeons are delighted to be amongst it, as also to eate thereof, as Apuleius writeth.

1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 57/1 Grass, Pigeon's, Verbena officinalis.

1995 Access Mag. (Nexis) Nov. 14 Vervain [is] also known as American Vervain, Wild Hyssop.., Traveler's Joy, Pigeon's Grass, Holy Herb, [etc.].

pigeon's throat n. a blue-green colour.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [noun] > shade or tint of green > bluish green

verditer1552

sea-green1598

blue-green1659

verdigris colour1668

verdigris green1794

beryl1834

pigeon's throat1868

duck's egg1876

peacock green1876

1868 Sci. Amer. 7 Oct. 226/2 Afterward the steel takes several shades, rapidly following and blending with each other; they are purple, pigeon's throat, copper, brown purple.

1883 Cassell's Family Mag. Oct. 698/2 The newest colour for this purpose is ‘pigeon's throat’, a pretty blue-green shade.

2000 A. Thorpe Shifts (2001) 51 Now we will see the iron go blue and green. We call it pigeon's throat. It means that it is very strong.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	pigeon
释义	pigeonn. Brit. /ˈpɪdʒ(ᵻ)n/, U.S. /ˈpɪdʒ(ə)n/ Forms: Middle English pegen, Middle English pegeon, Middle English pegeone, Middle English pegon, Middle English peion, Middle English peioun, Middle English peiun, Middle English pejon, Middle English pejone, Middle English pejoun, Middle English pichon, Middle English pychon, Middle English pygeoun, Middle English pygyne, Middle English pyion, Middle English pyione, Middle English pyioun, Middle English pyjon, Middle English 1600s pigon, Middle English (1700s English regional (Norfolk)) pegion, Middle English–1500s pegyon, Middle English–1500s pygeon, Middle English–1600s pigion, Middle English– pigeon, 1500s pegyn, 1500s pichion, 1500s pidgin, 1500s pigen, 1500s pigin, 1500s pydgyn, 1500s pyggion, 1500s pygion, 1500s pygon, 1500s pygyn, 1500s (1700s North American) piggen, 1500s– pidgeon (now nonstandard), 1600s pidgion, 1600s pigeing, 1600s piggion, 1600s pydgion, 1800s– pudgen (English regional (Northumberland)); Scottish pre-1700 pigioun, pre-1700 powdȝon, pre-1700 pudȝeoun, pre-1700 pudyean, pre-1700 1700s– pigeon. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French pigon, pigeon. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman pigon, pigeon, pigun, pigoun, pijoun, pijun pigeon, nestling, young bird (also in figurative use) and Middle French pigeon (French pigeon ) young bird (early 13th cent. in Old French as pijon ), bird of the family Columbidae (late 13th cent. as pijon ), naive, gullible person (a1488) < post-classical Latin pipion- , pipio young cheeping bird, squab (5th cent.), ultimately < classical Latin pīpiāre to chirp, cheep (see pipe v.¹) + -ō (see -oon suffix). Compare Old Occitan pijon (1428), Italian piccione (1472; compare pippione (a1348; now archaic or regional)); compare also Spanish pichón (1604; < Italian).For earlier use of post-classical Latin pipio in an English context compare the following:eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxxvii. 246 Ham [&] wilda hænna & ealle þa fugelas þe on dunum libbað, & pipiones þæt beoð culfrena briddas. Attested in Britain as a surname from the early 13th cent. (as Johannes Pigun (1211), Thomas Pigun (1260), Thomas Pigoun (1313)), though it is unclear whether these reflect the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word. I. The bird, or something representing it. 1. a. A domesticated bird derived from the wild rock dove ( Columba livia), noted for its homing abilities, which has been bred in many varieties of form and colour, and is now extremely widespread as a feral bird in towns.The domestic pigeon was originally bred for food and for carrying messages, and more recently for racing and showing. White varieties are often known as doves.Capuchin, ice, owl, pouter-, racing pigeon, etc.: see the first element. See also carrier pigeon n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon culverc825 pigeon1375 pigeon1581 cooer1862 mick1940 1375 in A. H. Cooke Early Hist. Mapledurham (1925) 204 Thomas Blont..hath indowed Dame Isabell..with..the thridde pejone of the grete dovehouse. a1450 Form Excommun. (Claud.) in E. Peacock Myrc's Instr. Parish Priests (1902) 65 (MED) Schal tyþe be payud..of coltus & caluus & pyggus, of gesse, off pychonus. 1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. cviij The gut of a pegion. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke ii. 24 A payre off turtle doues or ij yonge pigions [νεοσσοὺς περιστερῶν, pullos columbarum, Wyclif twey culuere briddis]. 1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome iv. f. 53^v On Whitsunday, whyte Pigeons tame, in strings from heauen flie. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. vi. 5 O tenne times faster Venus pidgions flie. View more context for this quotation 1663 S. Pepys Diary 19 Oct. (1971) IV. 339 The Queene..was so ill as to be shaved and pigeons put to her feet, and to have the Extreme unction given her by the priests. 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 137 At Modena..pigeons are taught to carry letters to a place appointed, and bring back answers. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1858) I. ix. 578 No Frenchman..could keep pigeons, unless he were a noble. 1898 Daily News 5 Jan. 2 Chequered blue dragon pigeons. 1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) xv. 403 The fowl's skeleton is, on account of its larger size, more convenient for study than that of the pigeon. 1986 L. Grant-Adamson Guilty Knowl. (1988) (BNC) 192 The fromagiers and sellers of glistening fish and plump fruits and vegetables had cleared their stalls from the market hours ago and left the place to scavenging pigeons. b. Any of numerous wild birds of the family Columbidae, typically having a stout, stocky body, short legs, a small head and bill, and a cooing voice, and feeding on grain or fruit. Usually with distinguishing word.Pigeons are generally larger and more robust than doves, but many species have been given both names. Cf. dove n. 1a.bronze-winged, crowned, fruit-, green, imperial, quail-, topknot pigeon, etc.: see the first element. See also passenger pigeon n., rock pigeon n., wood pigeon n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon culverc825 pigeon1375 pigeon1581 cooer1862 mick1940 1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha ii. vii. 277 To take yong pigeons or yong hawkes out of their nests (or airies). 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Colombe rocheraye, a rocke Pigeon. 1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 77 Columbæ Cavernalis..the Stock-dove, or Wood Pidgeon. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 261 Pigeons or Doves are of several sorts,..as Wood-pigeons, Rock-pigeons, Stock or Ring-doves, Turtle-doves, Dovecoat-pigeons. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 89 I found a Kind of wild Pidgeons, who built not as Wood Pidgeons in a Tree, but rather as House Pidgeons, in the Holes of the Rocks. a1785 A. Parsons Trav. (1808) v. 137 In shooting wild pidgeons. 1832 J. Bischoff Sketch Hist. Van Diemen's Land II. 31 By far the most beautiful birds in the island..are called bronze-winged pigeons. 1880 Harper's Mag. June 81/1 One and all bore the same story—not a seal, not a wild-duck, not even a rock-pigeon anywhere. 1925 C. Wells Six Years in Malay Jungle App. 227 Certain forms, notably the large black and white pied imperial pigeon, are found only near salt water. 1960 H. S. Zim Guide to Everglades 71 (caption) Audubon painted the White-crowned Pigeon on the Keys. 2000 Leyland's Austral. Winter 22/3 The spinifex pigeons..are often seen in pairs getting ready to nest. †2. A young dove or pigeon, a squab. Cf. pigeon gull n. at Compounds 2b. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > dove > young pigeona1400 a1400 Alphita (Selden) (1887) 144 (MED) Pip[i]ones sunt pulli columbarum..anglice, pyiones. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 396 Pyione, yonge dove, columbella. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 55 Had goten two pygeons [Du. twee ionghe duuen], as they cam first out of her neste. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 254/1 Pygion a byrde, pigon, colombette. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 171 Turtle Doues..: the olde ones be not so good, as neither the Pigion is. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. x. xxxiv. 290 As well the male as the female be carefull of their young pigeons and love them alike. 3. A pigeon or its flesh used as food.See also pigeon pie n. at Compounds 2a. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > fowls > [noun] > flesh of other birds larka1325 pigeona1425 storka1475 wheatear1591 ortolana1667 loom1878 ostrich1955 a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 49 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 108 Peiouns ystewed. Take peiouns and stop hem with garlec..and do hem in an erthen pot. ?a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 58 (MED) Pyionys. ?a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 109 (MED) Mynce þe rostid peiouns and cast the sauce þer-on. 1467 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 399 My mastyr..spent..in pegones, xj.s. viij.d. a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 144 Of quayle..pygeoun, swalow, thrusche, osulle, ye not forgete. a1529 J. Skelton Elynour Rummynge in Wks. (1856) I. 128 We haue egges and butter, And of pygeons a payre. 1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) ii. xli. 31 Pygeons be easily digested. ?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 84 Of a dish, az a colld Pigeon or so. 1640 H. Mill Nights Search 238 He wants his capons, pigeons, choice of wine. 1698 J. Chamberlain Let. 2 Oct. (1939) I. 158 Wherein you served two pigeons with one beane. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Oil A rich sort of Potage after the Spanish way, made..with Ducks, Partridges, Pigeons, Chickens, Quails, Sausages, [etc.]. 1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper iv. 114 Take six young Pidgeons and skewer them. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Audley Court in Poems (new ed.) II. 43 A pasty costly-made, Where quail and pigeon, lark and leveret, lay, Like fossils of the rock. 1867 ‘Ouida’ Under Two Flags I. v. 97 She..was ‘jolly as a grig,’..so long as she could stew her pigeons in champagne. 1956 S. Selvon Lonely Londoners (1995) 126 Is a long time I ain't eat pigeon, boy. 1996 Independent 4 Mar. ii. 24/3 Unless you desperately crave greasy fried pigeon give it a miss. 4. With distinguishing word: any of various birds, esp. seabirds, that resemble pigeons in some way but are not related to them.Cape, diving-, kelp-, prairie pigeon, etc.: see the first element. See also sea-pigeon n. 1. ΚΠ 1620 J. Mason Briefe Disc. New-found-land sig. A4^v The sea fowles, are..Sea Pigeons, Ice Birds, Bottle noses. 1694 Acct. Several Late Voy. (1711) ii. 84 The first Diving Pigeon I got..at Spitzbergen. 1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 158 Call'd at the Cape the Hill or Mount Pigeon. 1798 S. H. Wilcocke tr. J. S. Stavorinus Voy. E. Indies II. 31 We saw..the birds called ‘cape-pigeons’. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 782/1 In the Falkland Isles it [sc. the sheathbill] is called the ‘Kelp-Pigeon’. 1937 National Geographic Mag. Aug. 200/1 The Eskimo curlew, or ‘dough bird’ or ‘prairie pigeon’, as it was called by the gunners. 1968 J. K. Terres How Birds Fly xiii. 119 A large codfish caught off the coast of Newfoundland had swallowed a black guillemot, or ‘sea pigeon’. 5. A moving target, used in shooting as a substitute for a real pigeon. Also in extended use. Cf. clay pigeon n. at clay n. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > trap-shooting > [noun] > object shot at pigeon1875 smoke-ball1881 clay pigeon1888 clay-bird1897 clay1909 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1700/1 The rotary motion may be given..by means of a spring..compressed by inserting a pin..in a hole in the pronged axis on which the ‘pigeon’ is placed. 1955 A. Miller View from Bridge (1957) ii. 53 It's a shootin' gallery in here and I'm the pigeon. 1979 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 7 Nov. 43/3 Since everyone was shooting at the small block of wood, it was indeed a pigeon. 2004 Atlanta Business Chron. (Nexis) 5 Mar. b6 Tilson shoots at round, orange targets called ‘sporting clays’ or ‘pigeons’. II. Figurative uses. 6. colloquial. a. A naive or gullible person; a fool or simpleton; a person who is easily swindled, esp. in gambling. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe > esp. in betting game pigeon?1525 vincent1591 mug1857 ?1525 tr. G. Alexis Interlocucyon betwyxt Man & Woman sig. Aiij When a younge pegeon a Woman hath gotyn She will make hym at length as stronge as a crane For surely she will neuer forsake hym Tyll that his croper bone wax very lame. 1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 112 This pigeon being not of full age, could not contract it without the consent of his mother. 1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. iii. 187 Nor is Sancho behind him for a Pigeon; both deluded commit equall errors. 1785 M. Holford Fanny III. 256 I am not such a pigeon as he takes me for! I told him I had made a vow not to marry till I was twenty-one, and I'll stick to my text. 1788 J. Cobb Love in East ii. 28 Mush. My dear Colonel, ten thousand thanks. (aside) This fellow will prove a fine pigeon. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. vii. 149 A flatterer may play what game he likes against the pigeons of high life! 1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges iv. 201 He was a famous pigeon for the play-men; they lived upon him. 1941 Sun (Baltimore) 14 Aug. 13/7 These amateur gamblers are the greatest pigeons I ever knew. 1993 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 21 Mar. 10/1 Johnny Rich was a ‘steerman’ who led pigeons, or unsuspecting amateurs, into crooked card games with professional gamblers. b. to pluck a pigeon and variants: to swindle or fleece a person. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > defraud or swindle [verb (intransitive)] to pull a finchc1386 to bore a person's nose?1577 to wipe a person's nose1577 verse1591 lurch1593 to grope a gull1594 cheat1647 to lick (another's) fingers1656 to live upon the shark1694 sharp1709 fineer1765 to pluck a pigeon1769 swindle1769 to run a game1894 to sell (a person) a pup1901 scam1963 1769 F. Gentleman Stratford Jubilee ii. ii. 20 Most certainly—we had too many of the knowing ones there—here we shall have well-fledged tame pigeons to pluck in plenty. 1794 Sporting Mag. 4 47 I was instantly looked up to as an impending pigeon..and every preparation was made for the plucking. 1849 H. Melville Redburn xliv. 281 What little money he has, he spends freely; he can not be a polite blackleg, for I am no pigeon to pluck. 1885 H. M. Milner Turpin's Ride to York i. ii. 4/2 It's time to see if these pigeons are worth the plucking. 1922 Times 26 May 5/2 His client was probably the fattest and most easily plucked pigeon that ever flew into the betting club. 2003 Star-News (Wilmington, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 27 Apr. 6 e North Carolinians are no longer pigeons to be plucked. †7. A coward. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > fear > cowardice or pusillanimity > [noun] > coward(s) coward?a1289 hen-hearta1450 staniel?a1500 pigeon?1571 cow1581 quake-breech1584 cow-baby1594 custard1598 chicken heart1602 nidget1605 hen?1613 faintling1614 white-liver1614 chickena1616 quake-buttocka1627 skitterbrooka1652 dunghill1761 cow-heart1768 shy-cock1768 fugie1777 slag1788 man of chaff1799 fainter1826 possum1833 cowardy, cowardy, custard1836 sheep1840 white feather1857 funk1859 funkstick1860 lily-liver1860 faint-heart1870 willy boy1895 blert1905 squib1908 fraid cat (also fraidy cat)c1910–23 manso1912 feartie1923 yellowbelly1927 chicken liver1930 boneless wonder1931 scaredy-cat1933 sook1933 pantywaist1935 punk1939 ringtail1941 chickenshit1945 candy-ass1953 pansy-ass1963 unbrave1981 bottler1994 ?1571 tr. G. Buchanan Detectioun Marie Quene of Scottes sig. Iij And had it nat bene that the Quene..had..forbidden hir prety venereous pigioun to do battaile, he had fayled to finde..an honest colour to refuse to fight. 1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore i. v. 109 Sure hees a pigeon, for he has no gall. 1727 C. Johnson Country Lasses v. i. 53 I am not such a Pigeon neither to be scar'd with a Goats-hair Beard and a Dagger of Lath. 8. A sweetheart, a darling. Frequently as a term of endearment esp. for a woman. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun] daughterOE maidenOE young womanOE mayc1175 burdc1225 maidc1275 wenchc1290 file1303 virginc1330 girla1375 damselc1380 young ladya1393 jilla1425 juvenclec1430 young person1438 domicellea1464 quean1488 trull1525 pulleta1533 Tib1533 kittyc1560 dell1567 gillian1573 nymph1584 winklota1586 frotion1587 yuffrouw1589 pigeon1592 tit1599 nannicock1600 muggle1608 gixy1611 infanta1611 dilla1627 tittiea1628 whimsy1631 ladykin1632 stammel1639 moggie1648 zitellaa1660 baggagea1668 miss1668 baby1684 burdie1718 demoiselle1720 queanie?1800 intombi1809 muchacha1811 jilt1816 titter1819 ragazza1827 gouge1828 craft1829 meisie1838 sheila1839 sixteenc1840 chica1843 femme1846 muffin1854 gel1857 quail1859 kitten1870 bud1880 fräulein1883 sub-debutante1887 sweet-and-twenty1887 flapper1888 jelly1889 queen1894 chick1899 pusher1902 bit of fluff1903 chicklet1905 twist and twirl1905 twist1906 head1913 sub-deb1916 tabby1916 mouse1917 tittie1918 chickie1919 wren1920 bim1922 nifty1923 quiff1923 wimp1923 bride1924 job1927 junior miss1927 hag1932 tab1932 sort1933 palone1934 brush1941 knitting1943 teenybopper1966 weeny-bopper1972 Valley Girl1982 the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > one who is loved or a sweetheart > specifically a female sweetheart or girlfriend lief971 ladya1393 ladyshipa1393 speciala1400 amiec1400 womanc1400 amoreta1425 mistressc1425 paramoura1450 fair ladya1470 girl?a1513 sooterkin1530 Tib1533 she1547 lady-love1568 jug1569 young lady1584 pigeon1592 love-lass1594 lass1596 dowsabel1612 swainling1615 lucky1629 Dulcinea1638 Lindabrides1640 inamorata1651 baby1684 best girl1691 lady friend1733 young woman1822 moll1823 querida1834 sheila1839 bint1855 tart1864 babykins1870 Dona1874 novia1874 fancy-girl1892 girlfriend1892 cliner1895 tootsy1895 dinah1898 best1904 twist and twirl1905 jane1906 kitten1908 patootie1918 meisie1919 bride1924 gf1925 jelly1931 sort1933 a bit (also piece) of homework1945 beast1946 queen1955 momma1964 mi'jita1970 her indoors1979 girlf1991 1592 R. Greene Disput. Conny-catcher sig. C^v [When] they had spent vpon her what they had..then forsooth, she and her yoong Pigion [sc. her daughter] turne them out of doores like prodigall children. 1600 N. Breton Pasquils Mistresse sig. D Who would not daunce vntill he could not stand, That had so sweete a pigeon by the hand. 1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 13 He had left her in the Lurch..And under colour of Religion Courted another pretty Pigeon. 1726 G. Odingsells Capricious Lovers iii. xi. 38 Why, you little pretty prattling Pigeon you. 1796 R. Broome Lett. Simkin Second to his Brother Simon 10 Thou innocent lambkin, thou sweet pretty pigeon. 1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola x. 185 ‘Oh, you pretty pigeon!’ cried Tito, laughing. 1895 Harper's Mag. June 22/2 ‘My pigeon,’ he said, ‘is he not a pauper operajo, an artisan, who slipped in undetected?’ 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist iii. 116 Is that you, pigeon? 1992 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 1 Sept. d14 ‘That is my little girl, my little pigeon..’, he cried. 9. slang. Originally: a person who cheats in a lottery. Later more generally: a swindler; an embezzler. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] feature14.. frauderc1475 prowler1519 lurcher1528 defrauder1552 frauditor1553 taker-upc1555 verserc1555 fogger1564 Jack-in-the-box1570 gilenyer1590 foist1591 rutter1591 crossbiter1592 sharker1594 shark1600 bat-fowler1602 cheater1606 foister1610 operator1611 fraudsman1613 projector1615 smoke-sellera1618 decoy1618 firkera1626 scandaroon1631 snapa1640 cunning shaver1652 knight of industrya1658 chouse1658 cheat1664 sharper1681 jockey1683 rooker1683 fool-finder1685 rookster1697 sheep-shearer1699 bubbler1720 gyp1728 bite1742 swindler1770 pigeon1780 mace1781 gouger1790 needle1790 fly-by-night1796 sharp1797 skinner1797 diddler1803 mace cove1811 mace-gloak1819 macer1819 flat-catcher1821 moonlight wanderer1823 burner1838 Peter Funk1840 Funk1842 pigeoner1849 maceman1850 bester1856 fiddler1857 highway robber1874 bunco-steerer1875 swizzler1876 forty1879 flim-flammer1881 chouser1883 take-down1888 highbinder1890 fraud1895 Sam Slick1897 grafter1899 come-on1905 verneuker1905 gypster1917 chiseller1918 tweedler1925 rorter1926 gazumper1932 chizzer1935 sharpie1942 sharpster1942 slick1959 slickster1965 rip-off artist1968 shonky1970 rip-off merchant1971 1780 H. Croft Abbey of Kilkhampton (ed. 5) 130 Gamesters, sharpers, money-lenders, pigeons, View the Depositum here resident. 1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners II. 65 The Pigeon being mounted on a very [g]ood horse, flies directly to the West End of the town, where a third man on foot meets him, takes the number from the Pigeon, and goes into the Lottery-Office. 1801 Sporting Mag. 18 101 Pigeons.—Sharpers who, during the drawing of the lottery, wait ready mounted, near Guildhall, and as soon as the first two or three numbers are drawn..ride with them..to some distant insurance office..where there is another of the gang, commonly a decent looking woman..to her he secretly gives the numbers, which she insures for a considerable sum. 1937 News-week 13 Feb. 30/3 The best embezzlers—called thimble-riggers in the old days but now simply known as pigeons—always work alone. 10. slang (chiefly U.S.). A police informer; = stool-pigeon n. at stool n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer wrayerc1000 wrobberc1300 discoverera1400 denunciator1474 informer1503 denouncer1533 detector1541 delatora1572 sycophant1579 inquisitor1580 scout1585 finger man1596 emphanista1631 quadruplator1632 informant1645 eastee-man1681 whiddler1699 runner1724 stag1725 snitch1785 qui tam1788 squeak1795 split1819 clype1825 telegraph1825 snitcher1827 Jack Nasty1837 pigeon1847 booker1863 squealer1865 pig1874 rounder1884 sneak1886 mouse1890 finger1899 fizgig1902 screamer1902 squeaker1903 canary1912 shopper1924 narker1932 snurge1933 cheese eater1935 singer1935 tip-off1941 top-off1941 tout1959 rat fink1961 whistle-blower1970 1847 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 16 Jan. 149/2 This despicable rogue who has been long used as a ‘decoy duck’, or ‘putter-up’ of crime, and a ‘pigeon’ of certain officers..has at last been caught. 1859 G. W. Matsell Vocabulum 66 Pigeon, a thief that joins in with other thieves to commit a crime, and then informs the officer, who he pigeons for, and for this service the officer is supposed to be occasionally both deaf and blind. 1934 R. Chandler in Black Mask Oct. 14/2 Don't come here again—..I don't like—pigeons. 1976 R. Rosenblum Sweetheart Deal i. 11 For years guarding witnesses remained a..shoestring operation. Rent a hotel room and keep the pigeon under wraps. 11. Journalists' slang. A person who carries a journalist's report from one country to another in order to evade censorship. Cf. pigeon v. 2b. ΘΚΠ society > communication > journalism > supply of news or newspapers > [noun] > one who carries report to avoid censorship pigeon1973 1973 Guardian 19 May 13/3 A ‘pigeon’ is someone who carries a journalist's story from one country to another and then sees that it is cabled to the journalist's home office. 1980 Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Feb. 84/1 To get their stories out journalists..can use ‘pigeons’, the journalists' trade name for someone who carries news despatches by hand. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. pigeon basket n. ΚΠ 1703 tr. P. Dionis Anat. Humane Bodies Improv'd 437 The Valves are made in the Form of a Crescent or a Pidgeon-Basket. 1886 Times 16 Sept. 10/4 The left barrel..exploded, wounding the deceased who was stooping down by a pigeon basket near by. 2000 Grimsby Evening Tel. 13 July 24 Caistor Flying (Pigeons) Club are looking for a garage or a shed..to store their pigeon baskets. pigeon box n. ΚΠ 1750 B. Franklin Let. 23 Aug. in Wks. (1887) II. 206 I had..nailed against the wall of my house a pigeon-box that would hold six pair. 1851 Times 20 Sept. 7/3 She explained to them the position of the pigeon box. 1999 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. (Nexis) 30 Dec. b1 Buck..scented out the closest pigeon box almost immediately. pigeon cote n. ΚΠ 1769 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 7) III. 319 The Area of Barrowdale Chapel is scarce equal to that of a Pigeon Cote. 1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. ii. 17 After marching through a..paved area containing a coal-shed, pump, and pigeon cote. 2003 Lincolnshire Echo (Nexis) 11 Mar. 28 Gold and silver would be found near the east wall of the garden, about 10 feet from a pigeon cote. pigeon dung n. ΚΠ 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §402 There was Wheat, steeped in Water..mixed with Pigeon-Dung. 1868 Sci. Amer. 11 Apr. 229/3 Wines called ‘champagnes’ are, to our certain knowledge, prepared of honey, chalk, pigeon dung, and even worse materials. 1996 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93 7330/2 Jong et al...analyzed mating type ratios in a tower that was highly contaminated with pigeon dung. pigeon gun n. ΚΠ 1824 Times 25 Oct. 4/3 (advt.) Very fine double guns, 2 pigeon guns, pistols [etc.]. 1906 Arizona Republican 23 Oct. 4/1 (advt.) Ithaca hammerless No. 2 Pigeon gun, with Krupp barrels. 2000 Philadelphia Daily News (Nexis) 15 July 67 Included in the lots of long guns will be a Parker pigeon gun with Whitford steel barrels once owned by John Phillip Sousa. pigeon hutch n. ΚΠ 1844 Zoologist 2 453 A pigeon-hutch fastened against one of the walls. 2002 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 4 Oct. b1 Without the accents, the word is pronounced differently..and has an entirely different meaning (a pigeon hutch). pigeon roost n. ΚΠ 1766 R. Rogers Ponteach iii. iii. 60 We've more to do than fright a Pigeon Roost, Or start a timorous Flock of running Deer. 1803 D. Story Let. 3 June in T. M. Harris Jrnl. Tour (1805) 180 I have visited two pigeon roosts, and have heard of a third... One is supposed to cover one thousand acres: the other is still larger. 1914 Washington Post 21 Mar. 6/6 There was a ‘pigeon roost’, where they assembled in such numbers as to break with their weight the trees on which they roosted. 2003 Evening Standard (Palmerston North, N.Z.) (Nexis) 22 May (Sport section) 8 And it's progress that the council recognises the Oval grandstand will no longer be left as a pigeon roost. b. Objective. pigeon-eating n. and adj. ΚΠ 1871 Petersburg (Va.) Index 20 Feb. 1/4 In France it is a somewhat common wager to bet against the performance of pigeon eating of this kind. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 8 Mar. 8/1 The chairman spoke of the ‘disgraceful pigeon-eating contest which has taken place near Leeds’. 2002 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 30 May b1 What a dumb place Downtown is for a 10-inch gray bird to dawdle, with those pigeon-eating peregrine falcons living atop the Gulf Building. pigeon feeder n. ΚΠ 1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 258 The pigeon-feeder fills his own mouth with a watery mixture of canary-seeds and vetch seeds. 2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 30 July 3 Mr Croxford said..that the council would first consult pigeon feeders about the possibility of setting up special feeding sites and tables. pigeon keeper n. ΚΠ 1854 J. Rogers (title) The pigeon-keeper's guide. 1924 Times 18 Nov. 8/6 The message will be attached to each pigeon's leg in an aluminium cylinder by..the King's head pigeon keeper. 1992 D. Morgan Rising in West iii. Acknowledgements 517 I received help..from DeWayne Rail, teacher, poet, folklorist, and pigeon keeper. pigeon-killer n. ΚΠ ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xv. 220 Thus from th' Idæan height, Like air's swift pigeon-killer, stoop'd the far~shot God of light. 1827 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 111 Nane o' your pigeon-killers for me, waitin' in cool blood till the bonnie burdies..flee out o' a trap. 1995 Commerc. Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 14 Sept. 1 ce Another falcon, one that was a particularly efficient downtown pigeon-killer. pigeon shooter n. (and adj.) ΚΠ 1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. vi. 93 He detected poachers, black-fishers, orchard-breakers, and pigeon-shooters. 1924 S. H. Coleman Humane Soc. Leaders in Amer. ii. 51 This aroused the ire of the pigeon shooters and the manufacturers of sporting goods. 2002 Independent (Nexis) 31 July (Features section) 25 Then he accompanied a pigeon shooter on a day of pest controlling. pigeon-shooting n. ΚΠ 1793 Sporting Mag. Feb. 251 Pigeon-shooting. Embellished with a beautiful Representation of a Pigeon Shooting Match. 1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader ix. 234 Pigeon-shooting, against the practice of which many sportsmen protest..is of lowly origin. 2000 Jrnl. Soc. Archer-Antiquaries 43 103/2 The Red House was known in the nineteenth century for pigeon-shooting and latterly polo. c. Instrumental. pigeon-haunted adj. ΚΠ 1842 A. T. de Vere Song of Faith 207 Pigeon-haunted chestnuts musical. 1915 R. C. K. Ensor Belgium ii. 29 Quiet, pigeon-haunted streets that once surged to the sound of its tocsin. 2002 Sunday Times (Nexis) 3 Nov. (Culture section) 38 Robert Smirke's Greek Revival building, with its pigeon-haunted forecourt and colonnaded facade. d. Similative. † pigeon-tinted adj. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1906 N.E.D. at Pigeon Pigeon-tinted. 1917 M. C. Strachey Sketches in Verse 34 On mountains, pigeon-tinted, purple-breasted, Above her tiny lake sweet Nemi lay. C2. a. pigeon drop n. colloquial (originally U.S. Criminals' slang) a confidence trick; spec. one which begins with the pretence that money has been found or otherwise acquired and that the victim can secure a share in it by paying a smaller sum. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > confidence trick > types of drop-game1785 ring-dropping1788 drop1819 pigeon dropping1850 sawdust game1872 pay-off1915 short con1932 hot seat1933 pigeon drop1937 1937 E. H. Sutherland Professional Thief iii. 67 Among the short-con rackets, dropping the poke (also known as the pigeon-drop) is frequently used. 1991 N.Y. Times 17 May b4/3 In the pigeon drop, the con artists pretend to find a stash of money in an envelope or purse near the mark. pigeon dropper n. colloquial (originally U.S. Criminals' slang) a person who carries out a pigeon drop; a confidence trickster; also figurative. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster > types of ring-chopper1575 ring-faller1575 guinea-dropper1710 gambler1735 money-dropper1737 ring-dropper?1780 pigeon dropper1858 bunco-steerer1875 1858 Alton (Illinois) Weekly Courier 8 Apr. Thimble-riggers and political pigeon droppers trooped forth. 1936 Dothan (Alabama) Eagle 27 Sept. 3/6 (headline) Pigeon droppers mulct old negro of life savings. 2002 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Nexis) 28 Nov. Be aware of the more traditional yuletide criminals, like purse-snatchers..pickpockets and ‘pigeon-droppers’. pigeon dropping n. colloquial (originally U.S. Criminals' slang) the action of carrying out a pigeon drop or other confidence trick. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair charec897 matter?c1225 journeya1352 affairc1390 notea1400 incident1485 concernment1495 actiona1500 business1524 concern1680 job1680 ploya1689 show1797 game1812 caper1839 pigeon dropping1850 shebang1869 hoodoo1876 racket1880 palaver1899 scene1964 the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > confidence trick > types of drop-game1785 ring-dropping1788 drop1819 pigeon dropping1850 sawdust game1872 pay-off1915 short con1932 hot seat1933 pigeon drop1937 1847 J. H. Greene Exposure Arts & Miseries Gambling (ed. 4) 217 This trick is called dropping the pigeon... This pigeon is a curiously-contrived needle-case which opens at both ends, but has but one visible opening.] 1850 Green's St. Louis Directory for 1851 p. xviii Such practice is immensely more disrespectable than procuring money under false pretenses—no more honorable than veritable pigeon-dropping. 1955 K. Sullivan Girls who go Wrong (1956) xii. 128 Elmira became the more proficient of the pair at the badger game—flim flam and pigeon dropping. 2002 Saturday (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) (Nexis) 16 Mar. 11 b There are other e-mails that question my intelligence... They are the electronic equivalent of pigeon dropping. pigeon egg n. (a) the egg of a pigeon; (b) (figurative) something very small or insignificant; (c) (now chiefly historical) a bead of Venetian glass about the size and shape of a pigeon's egg. ΚΠ 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 70 Thou halfepennie purse of wit, thou Pidgin-egge of discretion. View more context for this quotation 1742 tr. Acta Germanica I. 310 The testicles..were small, scarce as big as pigeon-eggs. 1860 R. F. Burton in Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 1859 29 197 The favourite ornaments are beads, of which the red coral, the pink, and the ‘pigeon-egg’ are preferred. 1962 Man 62 105/1 The rest of the European beads shown in the German list are termed ‘Oriental’, ‘ringlet’, ‘pigeon-egg’ and ‘hollow’. 1999 C. B. Divakruni Sister of my Heart i. iii. 45 In the telling the ruby grew to be big as a pigeon egg. pigeon express n. now chiefly historical = pigeon post n. ΚΠ 1836 Times 12 Oct. 2/7 There was a rumour that a ‘pigeon-express’ had brought intelligence that the French funds maintained their prices. 1941 Utah: Guide to State (Federal Writers' Project) i. 133 Salt Lake City newspapers reported recovery of the bodies by ‘pigeon express’, using carrier pigeons. 2002 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 30 June (Bks. section) 5 Three times speedier than the boat, the Pigeon Express lasted until 1898, when it fell victim to radio waves. pigeon fancier n. a person who keeps and breeds pigeons (now esp. for racing). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons > pigeon-fancier the fancy1735 pigeon fancier?1755 columbarian1807 colombophile1890 pigeoneer1918 ?1755 T. Legg Low-life (ed. 2) 27 Pigeon Fanciers preparing to take long Rambles out of London, to give their Pigeons a Flight. 1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations II. xiii. 218 You were quite a pigeon-fancier. 1995 Independent 4 Dec. 14/7 It is fairly common knowledge that pigeon fanciers do not welcome the return of an errant bird. pigeon fancy n. rare = pigeon-fancying adj. and n. (b). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons pigeon fancy1879 colombophilia1964 1879 L. Wright Pract. Pigeon Keeper v. 58 It is almost impossible to make any real mark in the pigeon-fancy without exhibiting in some form. 1998 A. Martin Bilton iii. 35 He's just using the pigeon fancy to get back some popularity. pigeon-fancying adj. and n. (a) adj. that engages in the pastime or occupation of keeping and breeding pigeons; (b) n. the pastime or occupation of keeping and breeding pigeons. ΚΠ 1831 Times 3 June 2/5 One of the falco tribe [sc. a hawk] took up his abode in the steeple of Spitalfields church, to the sad annoyance of amateurs in that pigeon-fancying neighbourhood. 1936 Economica 3 473 Hobbies such as gardening, flower-growing and pigeon-fancying enjoy an increasing popularity. 2002 Times 25 July (T2 section) 2/1 Manchester has dispelled the Southern myths of flat caps and pigeon-fancying. pigeon flyer n. a person who trains or races homing pigeons. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > pigeon racing > [noun] > pigeon-racer pigeon flyer1857 1857 T. Guthrie City 172 One house filled with pigeon flyers, who were flying their birds the whole afternoon and evening from the front of the house. 1926 Times 29 July 8/4 I have discussed this question of tax on cats most fully..with poultry-keepers, pigeon flyers, and others. 2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 22 May 8 They were a tribute to John who was a pigeon flyer for over 30 years. pigeon flying n. the sport or pastime of training or racing homing pigeons. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > pigeon racing > [noun] pigeon flying1827 pigeon racing1872 1827 D. Johnson Sketches Indian Field Sports (ed. 2) 168 This..man spent..his time in..pigeon flying, or paper kite flying. 1934 G. M. Young Early Victorian Eng. I. iv. 236 Regular sport,..like whippet-racing and pigeon-flying, was more likely to be found in mining villages. 1991 Hist. Jrnl. 34 89 Other informal sports included foot races, whippet racing and pigeon flying. pigeon-hearted adj. faint-hearted, timid, cowardly. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > fear > timidity > [adjective] arghc885 unboldc897 bletheOE feyOE frightfula1325 fearedc1330 fearfulc1374 ferdfula1382 palea1393 ferdya1400 ghastful1422 tremblingc1430 timorousc1450 cremeuse1477 craintive1490 cocklea1500 sheepish?1518 awfula1522 meticulousc1540 timidc1550 sheepa1556 tremebundc1560 timorsomec1600 tremulous1611 pigeon-hearteda1625 affrightful1631 formidolous1656 pavid1656 timidous1658 unsupported1694 tender-nosed1700 scary1773 pippin-hearted1809 kitten-hearted1831 funky1835 misventurous1849 milksoppish1852 tender-footed1854 fearsome1863 scare1885 milksoppy1886 milksopping1888 cotton wool1909 a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim iii. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hhhhh/1 I never saw such Pigeon-hearted people. 1787 J. P. Kemble Pilgrim iii. iii. 33 I never saw such pigeon-hearted rogues; what drum, you fools? What danger? 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxii. 150 This fellow is pigeon-hearted, and light-headed. 1991 R. Anderson Paper Faces xiv. 82 Dot considered her pigeon-hearted father and wondered why she could never recall his face. pigeon-livered adj. = pigeon-hearted adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > calmness > meekness or mildness > [adjective] stillc825 tamec888 mildeOE lithea1000 daftc1000 meekc1325 lambishc1374 meeklyc1375 benign1377 temperatec1380 quieta1382 gall-lessa1398 mansuetea1425 meeta1425 unwrathful1542 rageless1578 lamb-like?1592 mildya1603 milky1602 pigeon-livered1604 placid1614 spleenless?1615 passive1616 unprovokable1646 milken1648 uncaptious1661 stomachless1727 unindignant1789 pianoa1817 ireless1829 unquarrelsome1830 quiet-goinga1835 uncholeric1834 unoffendable1839 baby-milda1845 quiet-tempered1846 turtlish1855 pathic1857 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 579 But I am pidgion liuerd, and lack gall To make oppression bitter. 1785 T. L. O'Beirne Gleam of Comfort (ed. 2) 84 Unlike some pigeon-livered possessors of uncontrolled sway in Europe. 1832 Times 22 June 4/3 If the Duke ever forgives the candid speech made on that occasion, he is more pigeon-livered than we think him. 1998 Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail (Nexis) 29 Sept. (Sports section) p3 b The problem is I underestimated Clay... I thought they were pigeon-livered. pigeon loft n. a loft in which domestic pigeons roost; (figurative) a high place, a lookout. ΚΠ 1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 7 The profoundest Cabalistes, who in stead of a pigeon loft, place in the garrets of houses, portable, and commodious Aiaxes. 1735 J. Moore Columbarium 3 A Pigeon Loft ought to be built to the South or South-west. 1891 R. Kipling City Dreadful Night v. 34 Do you mean that you can from this absurd pigeon-loft locate the wards in the night-time! 1996 C. Bateman Of Wee Sweetie Mice & Men iii. 25 It was a millionaire's mansion on the County Down coast, with a covered pool and a tarted-up pigeon loft with white doves. pigeon man n. a person running a service of messenger pigeons; spec. a person running such a service established in the mid 19th cent. to transmit news of the Stock Exchange between Paris and London. ΚΠ 1846 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 10 Jan. 28/1 In 1837–38–39, and 1840, a great deal of money was made by the ‘pigeon men’, as the speculators supposed to have possession of such intelligence are familiarly termed. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 2 Dec. 12/2 Those London Stock Exchange celebrities of the thirties, the ‘pigeon men’. They established a service of pigeons between London and Paris. 2002 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 7 Oct. 12 The remarkable pigeon man who instigated the service. † pigeon marl n. Obsolete marl having a coloration resembling that of a pigeon's neck. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > marl > other marls pigeon marl1601 paper-marl1707 toad-marl1764 rock marl1772 earth-marl1803 wichert1912 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 506 The Columbine marle, the Gauls call in their language..Pelias (Doue or Pigeon marle). 1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. x. 32 Columbine or Pidgeon Marle lies in lumpes and cloddes. 1778 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 13 Here was a bed of this pigeon marle. pigeon match n. now rare a contest to shoot pigeons released from traps at a fixed distance from the competitors. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > trap-shooting > [noun] > contest pigeon match1810 trap-match1895 skeet shoot1926 trapshoot1926 skeet championship1942 skeet contest1952 skeet match1970 1810 Sporting Mag. 35 140 A pigeon match for a stake of 200 guineas. 1904 W. D. Howells Let. 18 Mar. in Sel. Lett. (1983) V. 88 We saw..a pigeon match: the poor creatures untrapped,..then springing into the air, and brought down by the guns. 1956 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 1 June 11/1 (headline) 10 perfect shooters in live pigeon match. pigeon pie n. a pie made with pigeon meat. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > pastry > pie > [noun] > pie with fowls pigeon pie1575 chicken pie1584 turkey-tomba1640 goose-pie1714 partridge pie1723 rook pie1738 pâté de foie gras1814 Strasbourg pie1838 1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxxv. 92 Colde loynes of Ueale,..With Pygeon pyes, and Mutton colde, are set on hunger loose. 1646 H. Mill 2nd Pt. Nights Search v. 31 Dame Lopas sent the Brewers Clark..With a Pigeon-pie. 1779 J. Woodforde Diary 15 Apr. (1924) I. 249 We had for dinner..a Pidgeon Pye. 1843 Ainsworth's Mag. 4 13 Swallowing a morsel of foie gras as uncognizantly as though it had been pigeon-pie. 1997 Countryman Spring 188/2 (advt.) Singin Hinnies, Pigeon Pie, Pease Pudding, Stotties and Fruit Cake..are some of the 25 recipes. pigeon post n. now chiefly historical a postal system using homing pigeons to convey letters, dispatches, etc. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun] > types of service > conveyance of mail by pigeon pigeon post1819 1819 Times 19 July 2/5 Last year several gentlemen conceived the project of establishing a pigeon post between France and England. 1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 661/2 Photographing forts and positions of troops, and sending the films by means of pigeon-post to be developed and printed at headquarters. 1975 Times 15 Mar. 14/7 It will cost 7p to have a first-class letter delivered... To set up a pigeon post is remarkably cheap and easy. 1990 Stamp Monthly Mar. 31/1 The message of victory in the Battle of Waterloo was sent from Waterloo to London by pigeon post. † pigeon-poult n. Obsolete rare a young pigeon. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon > young dove-birdc1200 culver-bird1382 peepera1586 squab1694 dovelet1825 pigeon-poult1885 piper1885 1885 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. II. xxxix. 50 On the night of the consummation they cut the throat of a pigeon-poult. pigeon racing adj. and n. (a) adj. that races pigeons; (b) n. a sport in which homing pigeons are released at a distance from their homes, the winner being the first recorded returning to its loft. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > pigeon racing > [noun] pigeon flying1827 pigeon racing1872 1872 Ohio Democrat (New Philadelphia, Ohio) 5 Jan. He anticipated orders from famous pigeon racing stock in Europe, where famous flyers are appreciated. 1926 ‘Squills’ (title) Secrets of long-distance pigeon racing. 1996 Independent 1 Apr. 9/8 Pigeon racing is an obsessional hobby. pigeon room n. now rare a room in which domestic pigeons are kept. ΚΠ 1647 J. Cleveland Char. London-diurnall 2 Like to a martyr'd Abbeys courser doome, Devoutly altered to a Pigeon roome. 1895 Decatur (Illinois) Daily Republican 28 Dec. 2/3 Put up a cheap monument back in the pigeon room. 1949 Geogr. Rev. 39 583 Only the cooking and sleeping area..a part of the stable and chicken room, and the entire pigeon room are covered. pigeon ruby red n. and adj. = pigeon's blood n. and adj. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [noun] > shades of red > deep red or crimson crimson madderOE purpureOE murrey1305 tuly1398 oxblood?1440 crimson?a1475 sanguinea1500 carnation?1533 murrey colour1537 purple-red1565 ruby1572 sanguine red1601 velvet-crimson1646 lake1660 lac1682 rubine1704 madder red1728 ruby-red1738 granate1750 palm-colour1773 morone1777 carmine1799 vinaceous1819 incarnadine1821 crimsoning1833 pigeon's blood1865 solferinoc1865 Burgundy1881 sang-de-bœuf1881 vermilion-crimson1882 claret1884 royal red1890 wine1895 pigeon ruby red1897 Bordeaux1904 peony1914 madder crimson1991 1897 Daily News 23 Feb. 6/2 Colour shades ranging from..pale rose to intense pigeon ruby red. 1930 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 30 Aug. 9/7 A pigeon ruby red velvet coat lined with gray. pigeon salt n. rare (now historical) a deposit of salt on the outside of a cooking vessel, caused by salt water leaking out from inside and being evaporated. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > additive > salt > [noun] > types of salt salt-stonea1000 saltc1000 white saltOE bay-salt1465 rock salt1562 salt upon salt1580 mineral salt1600 sea salt1601 French salt1617 verge-salt1656 table salt1670 pigeon salt1679 salt-cakec1702 tamarisk salt1712 cat-salt1724 butter salt1749 basket-salt1753 Sunday salt1756 rock1807 stoved salt1808 solar salt1861 fishery-salt1883 gros sel1917 1679 Philos. Trans. 1677 (Royal Soc.) 12 1063 A fift sort is Pigeon Salt, which is nothing but the Brine running out through the crack of a Phat, and hardens to a clod on the outside over the fire. 2000 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 24 June 54 In the 17th Century (when such a pricing policy was fully operational) you could buy..‘pigeon salt’, formed where the pan leaked. pigeon shot n. (a) a small size of shot used for shooting pigeons; (b) a person skilled in shooting pigeons. ΚΠ 1682 T. Newe Let. 23 Aug. in A. S. Salley Narr. of Early Carolina (1911) 187 2 C [sc. hundredweight] of pigeon shot. 1726 N. Uring Hist. Voy. & Trav. 286 Small Balls about the Bigness of Pidgeon Shot. 1870 Times 2 May 12/2 Captain J. J. W. Fredricks, a well-known pigeon shot, and a member of the committee of the Gun Club. 1902 Indiana (Pa.) Weekly Messenger 23 Apr. The folly of trying to kill a panther with pigeon shot never occurred to me. 1997 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 14 Sept. (Spectrum section) 6 She is the widow of that legendary professional pigeon shot Archie Coats. † pigeon-stand n. Obsolete a standing-place from which pigeons are shot. ΚΠ 1844 Knickerbocker Mag. 24 28 There too is a pigeon-stand, built for murderous purposes; and there too is the booth of pine-branches erected to conceal the sportsman. 1866 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 270/2 The days of the bough-house and pigeon-stand strewn with barley seem to have gone by. 1882 N. Cleaveland & A. S. Packard Hist. Bowdoin Coll. 97 He was noted for his pigeon stand and booth of brush, and his game. pigeon-tailed adj. now chiefly historical designating a coat with a spreading tail. ΚΠ 1857 Ladies' Repository June 331/1 An ‘old-time’ school ‘master’..with his pigeon-tailed coat. 1901 W. Churchill Crisis ii. ix. 202 The red pigeon-tailed coat. 2004 L. Kleypas Again the Magic ii. 20 Black plush breeches, a mustard-colored waistcoat, and a blue pigeon-tailed coat. pigeon toe n. a toe which turns inwards; usually in plural; cf. pigeon-toed adj. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > deformity > deformities of specific parts > [noun] > of foot > foot splay-foot1548 stump foota1568 polt-foot1578 club-foot1683 bumble foot1832 reel foot1835 pigeon toe1888 clump-foot1922 rocker foot1934 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at Pigeon-toed Bow-legs and pigeon-toes usually go together. 1992 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 2 May f3/4 ‘Duck feet? You're out. Pigeon toes? Out,’ Hao says, reeling off a long list of unacceptable flaws. pigeon tower n. a tower in which domestic pigeons roost. ΚΠ 1855 R. Burton Meccah I. iii. 45 Solitary huts, pigeon-towers, or watch-turrets. 1930 A. U. Pope Introd. Persian Art (1931) ix. 206 There are decorative battlements or even corner towers, pigeon towers being a fairly common feature. 2001 Sunday Express (Nexis) 17 June (Property section) 43 There is an unrestored pigeon tower with beamed ceilings and terracotta floors throughout. b. In names of plants and animals. pigeon cherry n. U.S. = pin cherry n. at pin n.¹ Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1850 New Eng. Farmer 2 160/1 The small, red wild cherry, often called the pigeon cherry,..very much resembles some of our cultivated varieties. 1998 Townsend Let. Doctors & Patients (Nexis) Nov. 46 Briante's ‘cancer cure’ for example was spikenard.., white vervaine, pigeon cherry, white pine bark, and sweet cicely. pigeon diver n. †(a) the black guillemot, Cepphus grylle (obsolete); (b) U.S. the little auk, Alle alle. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Alcidae (auks) > [noun] > cepphus grylle (black guillemot) sea-pigeon1620 sea turtle-dove1676 Greenland-dove1678 Greenland dove1678 sea-turtle1678 diving-pigeon1694 pigeon diver1694 scraber1698 puffineta1705 Greenland turtle?1787 tinkershere1799 dovekie1819 1694 tr. F. Martens Voy. Spitzbergen 79 in Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. The Pigeon-diver..one of the beautifullest Birds of Spitzbergen. 1839 D. H. Storer & W. P. O. Peabody Rep. Fishes, Reptiles & Birds Mass. 400 The Little Guillemot, Uria alle, sometimes called the Little Auk or Pigeon Diver. 1955 Amer. Speech 30 181 Pigeon diver (dovekie, New Brunswick, Mass.). pigeon fieldfare n. British regional (now rare) the fieldfare, Turdus pilaris. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus pilaris (fieldfare) fieldfareOE juniper1598 storm cock1769 pigeon fieldfare1812 bluetail1836 jack bird1861 felt1879 1812 W. B. Daniel Rural Sports III. 151 The Fieldfare..is by some called the Pigeon Fieldfare. 1834 R. Barham Cousin Nicholas xvii, in Blackwood's Mag. Dec. 796/2 A flight of pigeon-fieldfares..alighted among the berries of the shrubbery. 1892 D. Jordan Within Hour of London vi. 103 In our young days we used to shoot..two varieties of fieldfares, the fieldfare common, and what we in our juvenile fashion called the pigeon fieldfare, or felt. 1907 R. J. Balston et al. Notes Birds Kent 10 Fieldfare. Turdus pilarus, Linnæus... Felt, and Pigeon-Fieldfare. 1938 J. Walpole-Bond & P. Rickman Hist. Sussex Birds Index 377 Pigeon-Fieldfare (Fieldfare). pigeon-foot n. †(a) = pigeon's-foot n. (a) at Compounds 3 (obsolete); (b) U.S. a glasswort, esp. Salicornia europaea. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > geranium and allied flowers > allied flowers herb Roberta1300 stick pile?a1450 culverfootc1450 devil's needlea1500 crane's-bill1548 dove's-foot1548 geranium1548 shepherd's needle1562 bloodroot1578 Gratia Dei1578 sanguine root1578 pigeon's-foot1597 Roman cranesbill1648 robin1694 redshanka1722 musk1728 ragged Robert1734 pigeon-foot1736 rose geranium1773 mountain flowera1787 wood cranesbill1796 peppermint-scented geranium1823 stork's bill1824 wild geranium1840 musk geranium1845 pin grass1847 Robert1847 stinking crane's bill1857 mourning widow1866 pinweed1876 ivy-leaved pelargonium1887 ivy-geranium1894 regal1894 peppermint geranium1922 1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ Pigeon foot (an herb), Geranium, pes columbinus. 1976 Hortus Third (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 995/1 S[alicornia] europaea L. Samphire, chicken-claws, pigeon-foot. † pigeon-goose n. Obsolete rare the cereopsis goose, Cereopsis novaehollandiae.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > [noun] > member of subfamily Anserinea (goose) > genus Cereopsis (Cape Barren goose) Cape Barren goose1843 pigeon-goose1890 1890 Cent. Dict. at Cereopsis There is but one species..called the pigeon-goose. pigeon grass n. chiefly U.S. any of several kinds of bristle grass (genus Setaria), which are serious arable weeds; esp. yellow bristle grass, S. glauca, and green bristle grass, S. viridis. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > bristle-grass kneed grass1597 knee-grass1706 pigeon grass1838 bristle-grass1841 pigeon millet1948 1838 H. Colman 1st Rep. Agric. Mass. (Mass. Agric. Surv.) 128 There were several patches of black or pigeon grass when the dyke was built. 1926 F. W. Hilgendorf Weeds N.Z. facing p. 17 (caption) Pigeon grass (Setaria glauca). 2002 Pioneer Press (SE. Minnesota) (Nexis) 25 Aug. 2 d Rich's flax field had a serious pigeon grass infestation. pigeon guillemot n. a mainly black guillemot, Cepphus columba, of the North Pacific; also called sea pigeon. ΚΠ 1862 J. Richardson et al. Museum Nat. Hist. 32 211/1 Pigeon Guillemot (Uria columba).—Habitat, North Pacific. 1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 24/1 The Pigeon Guillemot is ‘unquestionably the most characteristic water-bird of the Puget Sound region’. 2003 Canad. Geographic Mar. 84/2 Watt observes the extraordinary passing parade: shearwaters.., common murres, pigeon guillemots and..glaucous-winged gulls. pigeon gull n. (a) any of various gulls; †(b) English regional a young gull (obsolete); †(c) U.S. regional a young black tern, Chlidonias nigra (obsolete). ΚΠ 1861 H. W. Wheelwright Bush Wanderings of Naturalist ix. 172 Of the gulls, I could only identify three species in our district: the great black-backed gull, the lesser blackbacked gull, and the common, or, as we called it, the pigeon-gull, with a white eye. 1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 496/2 Pigeon-gull, a young gull. 1917 Wilson Bull. 29 76 Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis.—Adult is black striker, young, pigeon gull, Wallops I[slan]d, Va. 1968 C. E. Jackson Brit. Names Birds 32 Black-headed gull... pigeon gull Yorks. pigeon millet n. U.S. (rare) = pigeon grass n. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > bristle-grass kneed grass1597 knee-grass1706 pigeon grass1838 bristle-grass1841 pigeon millet1948 1948 A. L. Blomquist Grasses N. Carolina 186 One species (S[etaria] viridis) known as ‘pigeon millet’ or ‘foxtail’ is an obnoxious weed in cultivated ground in some of the Northern states. pigeontail n. [in allusion to the long pointed tail of the passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius (see e.g. quot. 1955] U.S. the pintail duck, Anas acuta. ΚΠ 1848 ‘F. Forester’ Field Sports U.S. & Brit. Provinces Amer. I. 41 Anas Acuta, vulg. Sprig Tail, Pigeon Tail. 1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 128 Pintail. Dafila acuta... Other Names.—Male: Sprig-tail..; Kite-tail; Pigeon-tail; Pheasant-dock. 1955 Amer. Speech 30 182 Pigeontail (Fla., Mich., Ill., Minn.) and pigeon duck (Iowa) doubtless trace to the extinct passenger pigeon, which had a long tail. pigeon tick n. any of various ticks that occur on pigeons, spec. Argas reflexus. ΚΠ 1902 Webster's Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Suppl. Pigeon-tick. (a) A parasitic mite (Argas reflexus) found on pigeons. (b) The common bird mite. 1977 G. Vevers tr. H. Mourier & O. Winding Collins Guide Wild Life House & Home 36/2 Pigeon ticks, which occur particularly in dovecotes, have similar habits to poultry mites. 2001 Pest Control (Nexis) 1 Oct. 40 The pigeon tick (Argas reflexus) is considered a soft tick, which refers to its soft body. pigeonweed n. U.S. (a) spikenard, Aralia racemosa; (b) either of two weeds, corn gromwell, Lithospermum arvense, and Mexican clover, Richardia scabra (now rare). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Araliaceae family or plants > [noun] panax?a1200 petit morelc1425 aralia1756 petty morel1778 pigeonweed1785 shot-bush1785 ginseng1818 1785 M. Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1 431 Aralia... Berry-Bearing Angelica. Shot Bush. Pigeon Weed. Blossoms white. Berries black. Common in new plantations. 1854 Trans. Michigan Agric. Soc. 6 468 A still more troublesome weed, the ‘Pigeon Weed’,..is making its appearance among us. 1874 in G. Vasey Agric. Grasses U.S. (1889) 104 The plant is known here by the name of ‘Mexican clover’, ‘poor toes’, or ‘pigeon weed’. c1935 W. C. L. Muenscher Weeds (1943) 384 Lithospermum arvense..Stone seed, Puccoon, Pigeon-weed. 1993 T. Coffey Hist. & Folklore N. Amer. Wildflowers 152/2 Spikenard, Aralia racemosa... Pettymorell (Mass, N.H.), Pigeonweed, Spiceberry, Spicebush (Conn.). pigeon woodpecker n. U.S. the northern flicker, Colaptes auratus. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Colaptes (flicker) > colaptes auratus (golden-wing) goldenwing1785 high-hole1808 high-holder1813 yellow-shafted woodpecker1822 yellowhammer1826 pigeon woodpecker1844 wake-up1844 yellow-shafted flicker1855 1844 J. E. De Kay Zool. N.-Y. ii. 192 This species..is called Highhole, Yucker, Flicker, Wake-up and Pigeon Woodpecker..in this State. 1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. II. 163 Flicker. Colaptes auratus auratus... Clape; Pigeon Woodpecker; Yellowhammer. 2002 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (Nexis) 9 June f1 Other colloquial monikers include golden-winged woodpecker.., pigeon woodpecker, wick-up and yawker-bird. C3. Compounds with pigeon's. pigeon's egg n. = pigeon egg n. at Compounds 2a. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > egg > [noun] > type of addle eggc1275 goose-eggc1394 wind-egg1398 pigeon's egg1651 the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon > parts of pigeon's egg1651 gravel eye1855 1651 J. French tr. J. R. Glauber Descr. New Philos. Furnaces 70 There found a kinde of stones, round or oval in form, and in bigness like unto a pigeons or hens-egg. 1747 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 44 452 It differs in Magnitude, as it does in Figure, from the Bulk of a Pigeon's Egg up to four or five times that Size. 1890 Cent. Dict. at Pigeon Pigeon's egg, a bead of Venetian glass, the form and size of which give rise to the name. Such beads were produced as early as the fifteenth century, and very ancient ones are preserved. 1996 Observer (Nexis) 16 June 7 Pigeons' eggs, snatched from nests overlooking Trafalgar Square. † pigeon's-foot n. [compare French pied de pigeon (1611 in Cotgrave)] Obsolete (a) either of two cranesbills, dove's-foot cranesbill, Geranium molle, and long-stalked cranesbill, G. columbinum; also pigeon's-foot cranesbill; (b) U.S. = pigeon-foot n. (b) at Compounds 2b. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > geranium and allied flowers > allied flowers herb Roberta1300 stick pile?a1450 culverfootc1450 devil's needlea1500 crane's-bill1548 dove's-foot1548 geranium1548 shepherd's needle1562 bloodroot1578 Gratia Dei1578 sanguine root1578 pigeon's-foot1597 Roman cranesbill1648 robin1694 redshanka1722 musk1728 ragged Robert1734 pigeon-foot1736 rose geranium1773 mountain flowera1787 wood cranesbill1796 peppermint-scented geranium1823 stork's bill1824 wild geranium1840 musk geranium1845 pin grass1847 Robert1847 stinking crane's bill1857 mourning widow1866 pinweed1876 ivy-leaved pelargonium1887 ivy-geranium1894 regal1894 peppermint geranium1922 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 793 Commonly called in Latine Pes Columbinus..it may be called..in English Doues foote, and Pigeons foote. 1843 J. Torrey Flora State N.Y. II. 140 Salicornia mucronata... This and the preceding species are sometimes made into pickles. They are often called Samphire, or pigeon's-foot. 1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 199 Geranium columbinum, Long-stalked Geranium, Pigeon's-foot Crane's-bill. pigeon's grass n. [compare Hellenistic Greek περιστέριον a kind of verbena < ancient Greek περιστερά pigeon (see peristerite n.)] common vervain, Verbena officinalis. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > vervain berbineeOE ironhardOE vervain?a1300 verbena?a1425 columbinec1450 holy herb1567 Juno's tears1597 pigeon's grass1597 simpler's joy1754 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 581 Veruain is called..in English..of some Pigeons grasse, or Columbine, bicause Pigeons are delighted to be amongst it, as also to eate thereof, as Apuleius writeth. 1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 57/1 Grass, Pigeon's, Verbena officinalis. 1995 Access Mag. (Nexis) Nov. 14 Vervain [is] also known as American Vervain, Wild Hyssop.., Traveler's Joy, Pigeon's Grass, Holy Herb, [etc.]. pigeon's throat n. a blue-green colour. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [noun] > shade or tint of green > bluish green verditer1552 sea-green1598 blue-green1659 verdigris colour1668 verdigris green1794 beryl1834 pigeon's throat1868 duck's egg1876 peacock green1876 1868 Sci. Amer. 7 Oct. 226/2 Afterward the steel takes several shades, rapidly following and blending with each other; they are purple, pigeon's throat, copper, brown purple. 1883 Cassell's Family Mag. Oct. 698/2 The newest colour for this purpose is ‘pigeon's throat’, a pretty blue-green shade. 2000 A. Thorpe Shifts (2001) 51 Now we will see the iron go blue and green. We call it pigeon's throat. It means that it is very strong. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). pigeonv. Brit. /ˈpɪdʒ(ᵻ)n/, U.S. /ˈpɪdʒ(ə)n/ Forms: see pigeon n. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: pigeon n. Etymology: < pigeon n. Compare Middle French, French pigeonner (1565 in sense 1). 1. transitive. colloquial. To cheat, trick, or swindle, esp. at cards or another form of gambling; to steal. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] > obtain fraudulently wilea1400 lurch1530 fox1596 shirk1635 rook1647 trick1662 pigeon1675 sharp1699 cheat1712 fob1792 snakea1861 wangle1888 slip1890 finagle1926 skuldug1936 swizz1961 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card-sharping or cheating > cheat someone at cards [verb (transitive)] pigeon1785 snakea1861 1675 C. Cotton Burlesque upon Burlesque 2 Of Lies, and Fables, which did Pigeon The Rabble into false Religion. 1785 G. A. Bellamy Apol. Life VI. 69 They have pigeoned me out of my money. 1792 T. Holcroft Road to Ruin v. 94 To be sure—It's a deep scheme! It's knowing a thing or two! Hay, old one? Pigeoning the Green-horns! 1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun II. 60 Having one night been pigeoned of a vast property. 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop xxix. 257 He never took a dice-box in his hand, or held a card, but he was plucked, pigeoned, and cleaned out completely. 1897 G. A. Henty Brahmins' Treasure (1900) xi. 148 Several young fellows of means have been pigeoned and ruined. 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 87/2 Pidgeon, to steal. 1974 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 16 June 12/6 First, the gang selects a victim, then despatches a member to ‘pigeon’ him. 2. †a. transitive. To send (a message) by carrier pigeon. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > sending items > send items [verb (transitive)] > by pigeon pigeon1823 1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 135 To ‘pigeon the news’, is to send information by the carrier-pigeon. 1870 Pall Mall Gaz. 25 Nov. 5 Gambetta has ‘pigeoned’ a message to-day..that ought to be very reassuring. 1999 Times (Nexis) 16 Jan. My thanks to all of you who have e-mailed, faxed, carrier-pigeoned or otherwise contacted me.] b. transitive. Journalists' slang. To smuggle (a report, etc.) out of a country by means of a courier or ‘pigeon’ Cf. pigeon n. 10. ΘΚΠ society > communication > journalism > supply of news or newspapers > make news available [verb (transitive)] > carry (report) to avoid censorship) pigeon1973 1973 Guardian 19 May 13/3 Many journalists here [i.e. in Cambodia] choose to pigeon all but the most innocuous of stories. 1980 Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Feb. 84/1 Overwhelmingly the material from Afghanistan has been ‘pigeoned’ out of the country. 1999 New Stateman (Nexis) 4 Oct. Who was the man I shared transport with in India and East Pakistan in 1971, and whose copy I ‘pigeoned’ to Singapore? Derivatives † pigeonable adj. colloquial Obsolete rare easily cheated, gullible. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [adjective] > gullible weak1423 simple-minded1556 gullish1598 soft1621 cheatable1647 miscarriageablea1656 bubbleable1668 imposablea1734 cullible1811 gullable1817 humbuggable1819 gullible1825 dupable1833 pigeonable1844 fleeceable1868 bluffable1885 hoodwinkable1889 yobbish1910 mug1922 1844 M. F. Tupper Heart vi. 58 Patron of two or three pigeonable city sparks. 1853 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 450 A knowledge of human nature under its more credulous and pigeonable aspect. † pigeoned adj. and n. colloquial Obsolete rare (a) adj. cheated, swindled; (b) n. people who have been cheated or swindled as a class. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [adjective] > fooled, duped foolified1584 fool-taken1608 cozened1610 gullified1624 gulled1647 sweet1673 bubbled1681 bilked1682 imposed-upon1706 cheated1709 duped1756 pigeoned1777 swindled1809 thimblerigged1840 befooled1842 bamboozled1866 spoofed1958 dicked1972 1777 Gamblers 45 Pigeon'd Jockies curse thy deeper wit. 1849 A. R. Smith Pottleton Legacy 110 You might divide them into two parties—the pigeoners and the pigeoned. † pigeoner n. colloquial Obsolete rare a swindler, a confidence trickster. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] feature14.. frauderc1475 prowler1519 lurcher1528 defrauder1552 frauditor1553 taker-upc1555 verserc1555 fogger1564 Jack-in-the-box1570 gilenyer1590 foist1591 rutter1591 crossbiter1592 sharker1594 shark1600 bat-fowler1602 cheater1606 foister1610 operator1611 fraudsman1613 projector1615 smoke-sellera1618 decoy1618 firkera1626 scandaroon1631 snapa1640 cunning shaver1652 knight of industrya1658 chouse1658 cheat1664 sharper1681 jockey1683 rooker1683 fool-finder1685 rookster1697 sheep-shearer1699 bubbler1720 gyp1728 bite1742 swindler1770 pigeon1780 mace1781 gouger1790 needle1790 fly-by-night1796 sharp1797 skinner1797 diddler1803 mace cove1811 mace-gloak1819 macer1819 flat-catcher1821 moonlight wanderer1823 burner1838 Peter Funk1840 Funk1842 pigeoner1849 maceman1850 bester1856 fiddler1857 highway robber1874 bunco-steerer1875 swizzler1876 forty1879 flim-flammer1881 chouser1883 take-down1888 highbinder1890 fraud1895 Sam Slick1897 grafter1899 come-on1905 verneuker1905 gypster1917 chiseller1918 tweedler1925 rorter1926 gazumper1932 chizzer1935 sharpie1942 sharpster1942 slick1959 slickster1965 rip-off artist1968 shonky1970 rip-off merchant1971 1849 A. R. Smith Pottleton Legacy 110 You might divide them into two parties—the pigeoners and the pigeoned. † pigeoning n. colloquial Obsolete (a) the action or practice of swindling someone; (b) the practice of subsisting on a diet of pigeons. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > [noun] > action bulling1532 cogging1570 cozening1576 coney-catching1591 fool-taking1592 gulling1600 bat-fowling1602 sharking1602 imposturing1618 mountebanking1672 shamming1677 sharping1692 fineering1765 overreachinga1774 pigeoning1808 flat-catching1821 thimble-shifting1834 thimblerigging1839 strawing1851 thimbling1857 fiddling1884 piking1884 ramping1891 1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress III. 222 Though no veteran in the art, she was not worth pigeoning. 1858 W. M. Thackeray Virginians I. xlvi. 365 My good child, did I say a single word about fleecing, or cheating, or pigeoning. 1873 C. G. Leland Egyptian Sketch-bk. 70 He married the lady who put him up to pigeoning. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1375v.1675
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pigeonn.

Compounds

pigeonv.

Derivatives