How do you pronounce turtle dove?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɝtəldʌv/.

Where does turtle dove come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

turtle dove

/ˈtɝtəldʌv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.47 in modern English

Syllables: turtle -dove
IPA: /ˈtɝtəldʌv/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several (species of) birds, called by this traditional name, mainly in the genus Streptopelia, of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons, which also included the extinct passenger pigeon, dodo, and solitaire).

noun

A lover, one half of a couple.

Example Sentences

"[…] and then on a common impulse this curiously simple pair of habitual criminals were in each other's arms and exchanging fond kisses for all the world like honest lovers. "Hullo, turtle doves," remarked Nickle, stumbling in upon this idyll and accepting it with saving coolness."
"Out for their evening constitutional. A lovely pair of turtledoves. Around the jolly corner, and off to the park."

Etymology

From Middle English turtildove, turteldoufe (cognate with Old High German turtultūba, turtulatūba, turtiltūba, Middle High German turteltūbe, türteltūbe, German Turteltaube; German Low German Turtelduuv, Dutch tortelduif, Faroese turtildúgva, Icelandic turtildúfa), Danish turteldue, Norwegian Bokmål turteldue, Norwegian Nynorsk turteldue, Swedish turturduva. The first element is from Latin turtur (“turtledove”) (compare the archaic synonym turtle (“turtle dove (bird)”); the word is not related to turtle (“reptile with a shell”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: turtildove, turtur

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtɝtəldʌv/
British English: /ˈtɜːtəldʌv/

Inflected Forms

turtle doves (plural) turtle-dove (alternative) turtledove (alternative)

Phrases

Adamawa turtle dove Australian turtle dove Cape turtle dove Carolina turtle dove dusky turtle dove Eurasian turtle dove European turtle dove laughing turtle dove