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Webster 1913 Edition


Ortolan

Or′to-lan

,
Noun.
[F., fr. It.
ortolano
ortolan, gardener, fr. L.
hortulanus
gardener, fr.
hortulus
, dim. of
hortus
garden. So called because it frequents the hedges of gardens. See
Yard
an inclosure, and cf.
Hortulan
.]
(Zool.)
(a)
A European singing bird (
Emberiza hortulana
), about the size of the lark, with black wings. It is esteemed delicious food when fattened. Called also
bunting
.
(b)
In England, the wheatear (
Saxicola oenanthe
).
(c)
In America, the sora, or Carolina rail (
Porzana Carolina
). See
Sora
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Ortolan

OR'TOLAN

,
Noun.
[L. hortulanus, from hortus, a garden.]
A bird of the genus Emberiza, about the size of the lark, with black wings. It is found in France and Italy, feeds on panic grass, and is delicious food.

Definition 2024


Ortolan

Ortolan

See also: ortolan

German

Ortolan

Noun

Ortolan m (genitive Ortolans, plural Ortolane)

  1. ortolan (Emberiza hortulana)

Declension

ortolan

ortolan

See also: Ortolan

English

A female ortolan.

Noun

ortolan (plural ortolans)

  1. A small European migratory bunting, Emberiza hortulana, once eaten whole as a delicacy.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book VII, chapter vi
      [] this taught him to consider Sophia as a most delicious morsel, indeed to regard her with the same desires which an ortolan inspires into the soul of an epicure.
    • 2003, Stewart Lee Allen, In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food, page 73
      [] the last flavor Mitterand wished to savor belonged to the flesh of the endangered ortolan, a songbird the size of a human toe that is a crime to buy or hunt, and is certainly illegal to eat. Mitterand devoured it in the traditional manner, first covering his head with an embroidered cloth, then inserting the entire bird into his mouth. [] Only its head should dangle out from between your lips. Bite off the head and discard.
  2. (US) Any of various similar birds, especially the bobolink, sora, or snow bunting.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:ortolan.

Hypernyms

Translations


French

Etymology

Middle French, from Latin

Noun

ortolan m (plural ortolans)

  1. ortolan (small bird)