ruby-headedadj.
/ˌruːbɪˈhɛdᵻd/, U.S. /ˌrubiˈhɛdəd/ 1. Having a deep red head.Recorded earliest in ruby-headed hummingbird n. at Compounds.
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the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [adjective] > red- or rust-coloured > red-headed
red-headed1774
ruby-headed1811
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [adjective] > having bird's head > of particular colour
red-headed1556
white-crowned1605
red-capped1648
redhead1738
blue-headed1743
grey-headed1747
black-capped1751
ruby-crowned1758
ruby-headed1811
1811 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. i. 329 Ruby-headed Humming-bird... This is one of the most beautiful of the straight-billed Humming-Birds.
1867 Harper's Mag. Sept. 452/1 In still another spot there were coils of rattlesnakes and adders, ruby-headed cobras.
2000 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 6 May 4 b A planet where..ruby-headed tulips stubbornly emerge through the crusty earth each spring.
2. Having a head or cap of ruby.
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1843 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 53 71/2 Paper velvet-like, and golden pen ruby-headed.
1857 H. Melville Confidence-man vi. 38 A well-to-do gentleman..a ruby-headed cane in his hand.
1905 Mod. Philol. 2 10 Mowgli takes a ruby-headed ankus, and is warned by the cobra that it will cause death.
1964 E. Berridge Across Common ix. 78 She pushed the long ruby-headed pin back into the hat with a shake of her head.
1998 J. A. Bates First Night out of Eden 12 The blood beads up so delicately, Lining the cut like a dozen Ruby-headed corsage pins Driven deep into a satin heart.
Compounds
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1811*Ruby-headed Humming-bird [see sense 1].
1885 J. G. Wood Pop. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) 346 Sometimes it is called the Ruby-headed Humming-bird, and it is also known under the name of the Aurora.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1811