piskn.
/pɪsk/, U.S. /pɪsk/ U.S. Now rare.
The nighthawk, Chordeiles minor.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Caprimulgiformes (nightjars, etc.) > [noun] > family Caprimulgidae > member of genus Chordeiles (night-hawk)
nighthawk1778
pisk1834
piramidig1847
1834 T. Nuttall Man. Ornithol. U.S. & Canada: Water Birds 609 Night-Hawk, or Pisk... This well known bird ranges in summer throughout the fur-countries.
1870 D. Cameron tr. A. Taché Sketch North-west of Amer. 191 I like the Pisk better, as it catches mosquitoes in the evening on the wing.
1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. II. 172/1 Nighthawk... Other names.—Goatsucker of Carolina; Bull-bat; Mosquito Hawk; Will-o'-the-Wisp; Pisk; Piramidig; Long-winged Goatsucker.
c1946 L. A. Hausman Field Bk. Eastern Birds 367 Eastern Nighthawk... Other Names..Pisk... Often seen hawking over towns and cities, calling as it goes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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