Dictionary

nightfowl en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈnaɪt.faʊl/

Etymology

From night + fowl.

Meanings

1. Any of various birds active during the nighttime or associated with night; a nocturnal bird.
   • He could see the ghostly outline of the distant peaks of the mountains, he could hear the haunting cries of nightfowl and coyote; but these things failed to interest him. 1903, Ridgwell Cullum, The Devil's Keg: The Story of the Foss River Ranch, page 171:
   • An eagle? No, that could scarcely be; eagles were not nightfowl, nor would one descend this close to humans. 1980, Poul Anderson, Conan the Rebel, page 165:
   • Now this wilderness was so utterly waste that not even the barking of a dog or the sound of a nightfowl could be heard. 1899, Rudyard Kipling, Letters of Marque, page 63:
   • Upon the middle of the night, Waking she heard the nightfowl crow: The cock sung out an hour ere light 1830, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Mariana:

Forms

Synonyms

night bird