aberdevine
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Attested since the mid 1700s,[1] of obscure origin. Richard Coates suggests that it may derive from Welsh aderyn and draenog[2] with substantial phonological modifications. (The alternative form aber-de-vine shows re-interpretation as a French compound with de.)
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
aberdevine (plural aberdevines)
- (obsolete outside dialects) The Eurasian siskin or spruce siskin, Spinus spinus, a small green and yellow finch related to the goldfinch. [mid-18th c.]
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:aberdevine.
References[edit]
- ^ Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “aberdevine”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.
- ^ Richard Coates, A Possible Etymology for Aberdevine "Siskin", Notes & Queries, September 2011, volume 58, issue 3.