woodpecker
/ˈwʊdˌpɛkɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.82 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "On its summit towered aloft the fir tree which has often been referred to, like a mighty mast, full of woodpeckers' holes."
- "His skin was scarlet like the head of the green woodpecker."
- "An adult female of this rare woodpecker was taken at 6,000 feet in April 1925 near Chingchuan in the forests of northern Szechuan."
- "Birdwatchers would enjoy a host of sparrows, a herd of swans, a descent of woodpeckers, a herd of wrens, and mutation of thrushes."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)wéydʰ(h₁)us Proto-Germanic *widuz Proto-West Germanic *widu Old English widu Old English wudu Middle English wode English wood Proto-Germanic *pikkōną Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn Old English *piccian Middle English piken Middle English pekken Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere Middle English pekker English pecker English woodpecker From wood + pecker. Compare Middle English wod spek (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodehake (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodewale (“woodpecker”). Displaced speight.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwʊdˌpɛkɚ/
- British English: /ˈwʊdˌpɛkə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
acorn woodpecker
African grey woodpecker
Andaman woodpecker
Arabian woodpecker
ashy woodpecker
bamboo woodpecker
banded woodpecker
banded red woodpecker