curlew

Meaning

Noun

• Any of several migratory wading birds in the genus Numenius of the family Scolopacidae, remarkable for their long, slender, downcurved bills.
• A stone curlew.

Origin

• From Middle English curlew, from Old French courlieu (see French courlis), claimed to be imitative of the bird's cry but apparently assimilated with dialectal *corliu, a variant of coureur (the bird is adept at running).