dodo

do·do

noun \ˈdō-(ˌ)dō\

plural dodoes or dodos

Definition of DODO

1

a : an extinct heavy flightless bird (Raphus cucullatus syn. Didus ineptus of the family Raphidae) of the island of Mauritius that was larger than a turkey and was related to the pigeon

b : an extinct flightless bird (Raphus solitarius) of the island of Réunion similar to and closely related to the dodo

2

a : one hopelessly behind the times

b : a stupid person

Examples of DODO

1. That dodo can't do anything right.
2. I feel like a complete dodo.

Illustration of DODO

Origin of DODO

Portuguese doudo, from doudo silly, stupid

First Known Use: 1628

Related to DODO

Synonyms

antediluvian, Colonel Blimp, fogy, fossil, fud, fuddy-duddy, mossback, reactionary, stick-in-the-mud, stuffed shirt

Antonyms

hipster, modern, trendy

Related Words

conservative, rightist, Tory; mandarin, old hand, old-timer, veteran; old maid

Near Antonyms

liberal, progressive, radical

dodo

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Restoration of a dodo (Raphus cucullatus)—Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University

Extinct flightless bird (Raphus cucullatus) of Mauritius, first seen by Portuguese sailors about 1507. Humans and the animals they introduced had exterminated the dodo by 1681. It weighed about 50 lbs (23 kg) and had blue-gray plumage, a big head, a 9-in. (23-cm) blackish bill with a reddish hooked tip, small useless wings, stout yellow legs, and a tuft of curly feathers high on its rear end. The Réunion solitaire (R. solitarius), also driven to extinction, may have been a white version of the dodo. Partial museum specimens and skeletons are all that remain of the dodo.