hickwall

Meaning

Noun

• The lesser spotted woodpecker, Dryobates minor.
• The European green woodpecker, Picus viridis.
• The blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus.

Origin

• From Middle English hyghwhele; also highwale (1500s) or highawe (1600s). Rarely attested before the sixteenth century, making the original form difficult to trace. Probably imitative of the bird's cry; compare yaffle (“green woodpecker”). Possibly influenced by witwall, woodwall.