starling
/ˈstɑɹlɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.03 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A fish, rock trout (Hexagrammos spp.), of the North Pacific, especially, Hexagrammos decagrammus, found in US waters.
noun
An enclosure like a coffer-dam, formed of piles driven closely together before any structure or work, as a protection against the wash of waves, commonly used to protect the piers of a bridge.
noun
One of the piles used in forming such a breakwater.
name
An English surname transferred from the nickname from a nickname for a gregarious person.
name
A male given name transferred from the surname.
Example Sentences
- "Vast flights of starlings, fleeing the racket, beat across the sky at high speed, like Squall-clouds,— Evening at Noon-tide."
- "When we had all laughed and applauded till we were faint, Starling, not to be outdone, favoured us with a more modern saltatory entertainment in the Lancashire clog manner — to the best of my belief, the longest dance ever performed […]"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ster- Proto-Indo-European *ster-os Proto-Germanic *staraz Proto-West Germanic *star Old English stær Proto-Indo-European *-lósder. Proto-Germanic *-ilaz Proto-Indo-European *-n̥kʷo-der.? Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Germanic *-īnaz Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz ? Proto-Germanic *-ingaz Proto-Germanic *-ilingaz Proto-West Germanic *-ling Old English -ling Old English stærling Middle English starling English starling From Middle English starling, sterling, sterlinge, from Old English stærling, from stær (“starling”) + -ling (diminutive suffix). Cognate with Middle Dutch sterlinck (“starling”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: starling, stærling
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈstɑɹlɪŋ/
- British English: /ˈstɑːlɪŋ/