nightingale

noun

night·in·gale | \ ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl

, -tiŋ-\

Definition of nightingale

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an Old World thrush (Luscinia megarhynchos synonym Erithacus megarhynchos) noted for the sweet usually nocturnal song of the male also : any of various other birds noted for their sweet song or for singing at night

Nightingale

biographical name

Night·in·gale | \ ˈnī-tᵊn-ˌgāl

, -tiŋ-\

Definition of Nightingale (Entry 2 of 2)

Florence 1820–1910 English nurse and philanthropist

Examples of nightingale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

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 But sometimes, the doubling is intriguing; the rat girl, Alysia Chang, returns as the Chinese nightingale. — Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Chronicle, "Oakland becomes Land of the Sweets with disarming annual ‘Nutcracker’," 24 Dec. 2017 Saya particularly misses hearing her mother’s bedtime stories, especially her Haitian tale about a nightingale who keeps children safe. — Wendy Dunn, star-telegram, "Immigration stories explain current affairs in a way children, teens can understand," 20 Oct. 2017 When Wilbur was a teenager, his first poem, about a nightingale, was published in a magazine. — Husna Haq, The Christian Science Monitor, "Remembering poet Richard Wilbur, 'heir to Robert Frost'," 16 Oct. 2017 As a teenager, his poem about a nightingale was published in John Martin's Magazine. — Hillel Italie, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Richard Wilbur, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, dies at 96," 15 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nightingale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.