How do you pronounce liver bird?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlaɪvə ˌbɜːd/.

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

liver bird

/ˈlaɪvə ˌbɜːd/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.05 in modern English

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noun

A cormorant-like bird which symbolizes the English city of Liverpool.

The etymology of the first element is uncertain. Perhaps simply a clipping of Liverpool. However, the word was identified in Randle Holme III's Academie of Armorie (1688) with German Löffler (“spoonbill”), as well as Low Dutch (i.e. Low German) forms cited as "Lepler, or Lepelner, or Lefler". If this etymology is true, it might have been adopted due to the rebus this word made on the name Liverpool. Also compare Dutch lepelaar (“spoonbill”). Either way, the modern vowel in the first syllable is unexplained.

liver birds (plural)

How do you pronounce liver bird?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlaɪvə ˌbɜːd/.
What does liver bird mean?: A cormorant-like bird which symbolizes the English city of Liverpool.
Where does liver bird come from?: The etymology of the first element is uncertain. Perhaps simply a clipping of Liverpool. However, the word was identified in Randle Holme III's Academie of Armorie (1688) with German Löffler (“spoonbill”), as well as Low Dutch (i.e. Low German) forms cited as "Lepler, or Lepelner, or Lefler". If this etymology is true, it might have been adopted due to the rebus this word made on the name Liverpool. Also compare Dutch lepelaar (“spoonbill”). Either way, the modern vowel in the first syllable is unexplained.

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