Dictionary

siskin en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈsɪskɪn/ (UK)

Etymology

From dialectal German Sisschen, Zeischen, diminutive form of Middle High German zīsec, apparently ultimately from Proto-Slavic *čižь (compare e.g. Polish czyżyk).

Meanings

1. A small green and yellow European finch, Carduelis spinus spinus or Carduelis spinus, now Spinus spinus.
   • Many of these classic methods are still used, with some modern improvements. For example, with the aid of special microphones and automated sound detection software, ornithologists recently reported […] that pine siskins (Spinus pinus) undergo an irregular, nomadic type of nocturnal migration. 2013 January 14, Paul Bartell, Ashli Moore, “Avian Migration: The Ultimate Red-Eye Flight”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016, pages 47–48:
   • I sat there on a bench in dappled shade, beside an aviary full of brightly feathered finches and siskins fluttering about. 2001, WG Sebald, translated by Anthea Bell, Austerlitz, Penguin, published 2011, page 2:
2. Any of various similar birds in subfamily Carduelinae, principally in the genus Spinus.

Forms

Deriveds

spruce siskin · red siskin · black-chinned siskin · pine siskin

Descendants

sisgyn

Relateds

serin · Spinus · Carduelinae

Synonyms

aberdevine (Spinus spinus) · Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus)