bird of passage
noun/ˌbɜːd əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/UK/ˌbɝd əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/US
Etymology
Probably a calque of Middle French oiseau de passage: oiseau (“bird”), passage (“part of a journey or route, passage”).
Definitions
A migratory bird, especially a passage migrant (“a bird that stops somewhere for a short…
A migratory bird, especially a passage migrant (“a bird that stops somewhere for a short time during a seasonal migration”).
- And now the ladies, with their gay plumage, have flown away like foreign birds of passage, and the jolly old priests of Bacchus, in the parlour, make their libations of claret; […]
Someone passing through a place and only staying for a short time
Someone passing through a place and only staying for a short time; an itinerant.
- The muſick and entertainments of Bath are over for this ſeason; and all our gay birds of paſſage have taken their flight to Briſtol-vvell, Tunbridge, Brighthelmſtone, Scarborough, Harrovvgate, &c.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for bird of passage. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA