hummingbird

== English == === Alternative forms === humming bird, humming-bird === Etymology === From humming (noun) +‎ bird, in reference to the humming sound made by the rapidly moving wings. === Pronunciation === (US) IPA(key): /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/ (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɜːd/ (Northern England) IPA(key): /ˈhʌmɪnˌbɜːd/ === Noun === hummingbird (plural hummingbirds) Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover. Hypernyms: bird < animal < creature Hyponyms: carib, sunbeam 1857 Thoreau, Henry David, journal entry, May 29, 1857. From Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, Boston: Beacon Press, 1993, p238. (Originally published as the anthology Thoreau's bird-lore, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1910, edited by Francis H. Allen.) Soon I hear the low all-pervading hum of an approaching hummingbird circling above the rock, [...] ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== trochilidine === See also === bee brilliant emerald hermit mango snowcap topaz