buzzard
/ˈbʌzɚd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.83 in modern English
28
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any scavenging bird, such as the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) or the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).
Canadian usage; American usage
noun
In North America, a curmudgeonly or cantankerous man; an old person; a mean, greedy person.
Colloquial; Derogatory; Slang
noun
Synonym of double bogey.
Example Sentences
- "Perhaps the crusty old buzzard loved his only child more than anyone had given him credit for all these years — maybe even more than he himself had realized."
- "1640, George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum; or, Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, etc., in The Remains of that Sweet Singer of the Temple George Herbert, London: Pickering, 1841, p. 142, An old man’s shadow is better than a young buzzard’s sword."
- "It is common, to a proverb, to call one who can not be taught, or who continues obstinately ignorant, a buzzard."
Etymology
From Middle English bosart, from Anglo-Norman buisart, from Old French busart, busard, a derivative ( + -ard) of Old French buison, buson (French buse), possibly from Latin būteō (“hawk”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbʌzɚd/
- British English: /ˈbʌzəd/
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- Colloquial
- Derogatory
- Slang
- Archaic
- Dated
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
augur buzzard
Buteo augur
belled buzzard
buzzard bait
buzzard-eagle
Buzzards Bay
common buzzard
Buteo buteo