Definition of NIGHTINGALE

Examples of nightingale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Every year, more and more endangered species arrive — such as turtle doves, on the brink of extinction from Britain, and nightingales, whose numbers plummeted 91 per cent between 1967 and 2007. — Isabella Tree, Time, "How to Return a Farm to the Wild—And Maybe Save the Planet," 3 Oct. 2019 Franciosi, whose character is nicknamed the nightingale for her singing voice, worked with director Kent for an unusually lengthy 10-week rehearsal period prior to filming. — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, "‘The Nightingale’ review: The woman behind ‘The Babadook’ goes even darker with brutal revenge drama," 8 Aug. 2019 The nightingale sang just before midnight, as if it were perched in the boughs of the dripping tree in the car park. — Deborah Levy, The Cut, "The Cost of Living," 1 July 2018 In Germany, the nightingale, that most melodious nocturnal wonder, was traded by the quart like a commodity. — Adrian Higgins, sacbee, "Fertilize your creative spirit with these gardening books," 8 June 2018 The landowners brought in Tamworth pigs and rare species like nightingales and purple emperor butterflies began to appear. — Nina Sovich, WSJ, "The New Outdoor Getaway: Landscapes That Have Been ‘Rewilded’," 20 Sep. 2018 The nightingale sang just before midnight, as if it were perched in the boughs of the dripping tree in the car park. — Deborah Levy, The Cut, "The Cost of Living," 1 July 2018 In Germany, the nightingale, that most melodious nocturnal wonder, was traded by the quart like a commodity. — Adrian Higgins, sacbee, "Fertilize your creative spirit with these gardening books," 8 June 2018 This, then, is a book that provides food for thought as well for nightingales. — Simon Barnes, WSJ, "‘Pasta for Nightingales’ Review: Birdwatching Tips From the Renaissance," 13 Apr. 2018

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History and Etymology for nightingale

Noun

Middle English, variant (with intrusive n) of nyhtegale, nyghtgale, going back to Old English nehtægale, nihtegale, going back to West Germanic *nahti-galōn, from *nahti- night entry 1 + -galōn, noun derivative of Germanic *galan- "to sing," whence Old English galan "to sing, call, sing enchantments," Old High German, "to sing enchantments, conjure," Old Norse gala "to crow, chant, sing," perhaps of onomatopoeic origin

Note: Germanic *galan- has been compared with Gothic goljan "to greet," Old Norse gæla "to comfort, soothe, appease," allegedly from a causative derivative *gōljan- from underlying *gol-. Proposed Indo-European comparisons (as Russian dialect galit' "to smile," galit'sja "to mock, jeer," Armenian gełgełem "sing beautifully, quiver, vibrate") are tenuous. See also etymology at yell entry 1.

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Last Updated

16 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Nightingale.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nightingale. Accessed 9 December 2019.