birdcagen.
/ˈbəːdkeɪdʒ/, U.S. /ˈbərdˌkeɪdʒ/ 1. A cage or coop where birds are kept; esp. a barred structure typically made of cane or wire designed to house one or more pet birds. Also figurative.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > bird-cage
birdcage1490
wire1628
1490 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1869) IV. 57 De j lez bird-cage, cum ij lez ald bordes, j d.
1615 E. Howes Stow's Annales (new ed.) 869/1 The Milloners..in that place, sould mousetrappes, bird Cages, shooing hornes, Lanthornes, and Jews trumpes.
1691 M. Pitt Cry of Oppressed 105 I built a great House in Duke-street, just against the Bird-Cages in St. Jame's-Park [sic].
1784 W. Cowper Unnoticed Properties of Hare in Gentleman's Mag. June 414/2 I was cleaning a bird-cage while the hares were with me.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 65/2 Some twenty empty bird-cages of different sizes hung against the walls.
1889 Harper's Mag. July 188/1 Wirballen is one of the doors through which the traveller is admitted to the Russian bird-cage.
1953 G. M. Durrell Overloaded Ark viii. 154 An epidemic of mycosis ran like fire through his bird cages.
1997 F. Goldman Ordinary Seaman 39 If she tells you she wants you..to open up that sad birdcage in your heart and let all your..misfortunes come hopping, squawking and flapping out, don't do it.
2012 Chronicle (Toowoomba, Queensland) (Nexis) 29 Oct. 8 A hand-tamed red lorikeet was on display, doing his bit to sell birdcages for Ruthven St's Aquabird Pet Centre.
2.
a. A building, room, object, etc., which resembles a birdcage in its shape, structure, or function. Frequently as a modifier.
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c1774 G. Bogle in C. R. Markham Narr. Mission G. Bogle to Tibet (1876) ii. 209 Three birdcage houses, and two Nepal dogs.
1886 Hampshire Tel. & Sussex Chron. 31 July 11/3 The French ladies affected a homeliness of attire which was only atoned for by the birdcage hat of Mrs. Potter.
1936 C. Woolrich Dilemma of Dead Lady in Detective Fiction Weekly 4 July 12/2 He'd never trusted that birdcage French elevator from the beginning, and when he saw Jacques getting ready to tilt the trunk onto it, he had a bad half-minute.
1991 Mirabella May 158/1 Lagerfield..declared the dipping hem passé, and instead turned skirts into birdcages or maypoles of flying ribbons.
b. Horse Racing. Originally: the paddock at the Newmarket racecourse used for saddling horses (now historical). In later use (Australian and New Zealand): (a proper name for) a paddock or other enclosure adjoining a racecourse, typically where horses and jockeys assemble before a race.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > racecourse > [noun] > paddock
saddling paddock1838
paddock1839
birdcage1865
1865 Daily Tel. 4 May 6/4 There was a wonderful scene of excitement when the first and second returned into the saddling ‘birdcage’.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 1 May 7/1 All the favourites were brought into the birdcage.
1952 M. Duggan in D. M. Davin N.Z. Short Stories (1953) 246 In the birdcage the horses for the first race circled and danced.
1995 Spectator 25 Nov. 69/3 They call the parade ring there [sc. Auckland Racing Club's Ellerslie track] the ‘birdcage’ and keep it clear of any clutter of owners and hangers-on.
2021 Daily Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 27 Feb. 102 When Lizzie Jelfs makes her pre-race selections from birdcages at Sydney racetracks, punters listen.
c. New Zealand. More fully birdcage car, birdcage carriage, etc. A type of railway carriage with a corridor the outside wall of which is enclosed only by wire mesh. Now historical.
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society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage > carriage designed to carry passengers > other types of passenger carriage
caravan1821
private car1826
Jim Crow car1835
ladies' car1841
saloon car or carriage1842
palace car1844
ladies' carriage1847
parliamentary carriage1849
parlour car1859
composite carriage1868
Pullman1869
observation car1872
first1873
compo1878
bogie carriage1880
chair-car1880
club car1893
corridor carriage1893
tourist-car1895
birdcage1900
dog box1905
corridor coach1911
vista-dome1945
Stolypin1970
1900 H. D. Lloyd Newest Eng. iv. 60 The ‘Bird-cage’ car on the New Zealand express trains, composed of compartments with an outside corridor up and down which the passengers can walk under shelter, but with a full view of the scenery.
1982 J. Frame To Is-land xviii. 147 During the Easter of 1936,..we went for our first family holiday, on the train to Rakaia, traveling in a first-class ‘bird-cage’ on our annual free ticket.
Compounds
birdcage clock n. (a modern term for) a type of domestic clock commonly used between the 16th and 18th cent.; cf. lantern clock n. at lantern n. Compounds 2 (now rare).
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > other types of clock
watch-clock1592
German clock1598
quarter clocka1631
wheel-clock1671
table clocka1684
month clock1712
astronomical clock1719
musical clock1721
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pulling clock1733
regulator1735
eight-day clock1741
regulator clock1750
French clock1757
repetition clock1765
day clock1766
striker1778
chiming clock1789
cuckoo-clock1789
night clock1823
telltale1827
carriage clock1828
fly-clock1830
steeple clock1830
telltale clock1832
skeleton clock1842
telegraph clock1842
star clock1850
weight-clock1850
prison clock1853
crystal clock1854
pillar scroll top clock1860
sheep's-head clock1872
presentation clock1875
pillar clock1880
stop-clock1881
Waterbury1882
calendar-clock1884
ting-tang clock1884
birdcage clock1886
sheep's head1887
perpetual calendar1892
bracket clock1894
Act of Parliament clock1899
cartel clock1899
banjo-clock1903
master clock1904
lantern clock1913
time clock1919
evolutionary clock1922
lancet clock1922
atomic clock1927
quartz clock1934
clock radio1946
real-time clock1953
organ clock1956
molecular clock1974
travelling clock2014
1886 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 26 Feb. 528/3 The clock which we illustrate to-day is of that type known from its shape as a Bell Lantern, or Bird Cage clock.
1913 L. V. Lockwood Furnit. Collectors' Gloss. 18/1 Clock..Chamber... These clocks are intended to hang high on the wall on brackets. Called also Lantern and Bird Cage clocks.
1988 Antiquarian Horol. 17 592/1 Lamport Church was the final stop and again has an interesting birdcage clock.
birdcage veil n. a short net veil, designed to cup and (partially) cover the face, and often attached to a fascinator or hat.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > veil > types of
flockard1465
power1526
crispa1592
fall1611
mant1651
mantilla1717
bridal veil1769
litham1839
voilette1842
yashmak1844
weeper1845
birdcage veil1888
fingertip veil1888
ghoonghat1916
spiderveil1922
niqab1936
full veil1937
1888 Moonshine 29 Dec. 317/2 (heading) Birdcage Veils.
1957 New Yorker 16 Nov. 157/1 Anticipating the Christmas-party season..trimming bird-cage veils with Christmassy gewgaws.
2014 H. Browne Honeymoon Hotel xxv. 395 Helen tilted her head so the hairdresser could pin the chic birdcage veil onto her signature French pleat.
Derivatives
ˈbirdcage-ˌlike adj.
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1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 46 Fit for substantial Structures, but not usual in Lime and Haire Birdcage-like-Buildings.
1855 R. Tomes Panama in 1855 vi. 175 As we swing in the hammack, we sweep the area of the whole hut, and examine the birdcage-like structure.
2020 Sunday Times (Nexis) 6 Sept. 33 The white birdcage-like planter hanging over the circular bath and big potted fir tree are suggestive of a Victorian hothouse.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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