cygnine en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Latin cygnus (“swan”), with English -ine. The alkaloid was named in reference to the Swan River in Western Australia, where the toxic plants were discovered.
Meanings
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Being of the genus Cygnus (swans), within subfamily Anserinae of the family Anatidae, though sometimes considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae.
The genus Choristopus, Eyton, apparently Anserine rather than Cygnine, is said to possess this character […]
1869, Elliott Coues, On the Classification of Water Birds, Merrihew & Son, published 1870, page 26:
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Of, concerning, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of swans.
On the whole, then, the bones of the pectoral arch in Dendrocygna — if we may judge from the two North American species of the genus — are more anatine than they are either anserine or cygnine.
1915, Zoologische Jahrbücher: Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und […] , volume 38, page 44:But, in the cutting of it, if thou dost shed / One drop of cygnine blood, thy clumsiness...
1848, Edmund Saul Dixon, Ornamental and Domestic Poultry, page 20:1949, G. L. Hendrickson, Classical Philology, Vol. 44, No. 1, page 30 alternate ...scarcely a translator can be found who conveys any other impression than that Horace becomes a swan before our eyes. One almost wonders in what cygnine dialect the rest of the poem was spoken.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more cygnine | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most cygnine | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Relateds
cygnet · dendrocygnid · cygnicide · anatine · anserine
Translations (3)
eo cigna (relating to or characteristic of swans) · pl łabędziowy (relating to or characteristic of swans) · pl łabędzi (relating to or characteristic of swans)