The Modern English word bird for any feathered vertebrate comes from Old English brid. At first, however, brid/bird was applied only to a young feathered animal, while an adult was called a fowl. The modern (general) use of the word began in the 1200s, after several hundred years of being applied only to the young.
No one is certain where brid came from, though it may have been related to Old English bredan (“to cherish” or “to keep warm”). The original idea, then, may have been that baby birds were “those protected and kept warm” by the adult fowls.
Birds have inspired many colorful expressions in the English language. Here are some of those expressions that use the word bird.
bird
Because bird originally denoted a young feathered creature, the word, by the 1300s, also came to stand for a child–male or female. Its application to boys gradually declined, but its use for girls flourished for several centuries, partly because it was reinforced by burd, an old poetic term for “woman” or “lady” (which may have originated in Old English byrd, “bride”). In modern England, bird has become a familiar, often disparaging, term for a woman, particularly a young woman.
Britons also use the word to denote prison or a prison sentence. Here bird is shortened from birdlime (see birdlime below), which, in rhyming slang (and because of birdlime’s association with “catching” things), stands for “time,” that is, a term of imprisonment.
The word bird has developed a vast range of other meanings. Here are some of them: a person or thing of excellence (1800s America); a man, especially an old bird (England since the 1800s) and an odd bird (America since the 1900s); a type of jeer (see to get the bird below); as the bird, an obscene gesture also known as the finger (contemporary America and England); and an airplane, rocket, satellite, or spacecraft (contemporary America and England).
birdbrain
Birds seem to dart about aimlessly, without any apparent plan of action. Therefore, from the early 1600s to the 1900s, the adjective bird-witted described a person who was flighty and who lacked the capacity for prolonged attention.
However, since the 1940s, that adjective has largely been supplanted by the adjectve birdbrained. The associated noun, for a scatterbrained person, is birdbrain.
Birds also have a reputation for having small brains. Therefore, also since the 1940s, a stupid person (that is, one with a small brain) has been called a birdbrain. The adjective form, as it is for a scatterbrained person, is birdbrained.
bird dog, to bird-dog
A bird dog is a dog trained to hunt or retrieve birds. Therefore, among humans, one who seeks out (such as a canvasser, a sports talent scout, or a detective) is a bird dog.
To watch or follow closely is to bird-dog.
bird(ie)
In golf, a long, impressive shot was formerly (in the early 1900s) called a bird. The use of the term conjoined two sources: the nineteenth-century American slang bird meaning a first-rate person or thing, and the idea that the shot “flew like a bird.” By at least 1913, the diminutive form birdie had come to mean a score of one stroke under par on a hole. Later, bird was revived as a shortened form of birdie.
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
For hundreds of years, people in many languages have developed proverbial ways of saying that it is better to enjoy what one has than to worry or dream about something that may be impossible to attain. In English, the most common way of expressing this idea is in the old proverb a bird in the hand (or a bird in hand) is worth two in the bush.
The exact origin of this expression, as with most proverbs, is buried in the dim past. Some language authorities see a precursor in the Bible, first translated into English in 1382, which has a passage that looks similar: “a living dog is better than a dead lion” (Ecclesiastes 9:4). Other researchers believe that the expression comes from medieval falconry, where the bird in hand (the falcon) had more value than the birds in the bush (the falcon’s prey).
However, the earliest recorded versions of the expression actually date from about 1530 (according to The Oxford English Dictionary): “A byrde yn honde ys better than three yn the wode” (Richard Hills); “A byrd in hand…is worth ten flye at large” (Hugh Rhodes). These versions were already regarded as proverbs, so they undoubtedly originated long before 1530.
The modern form of the proverb was in print by 1833. Again, people probably began using it much earlier than that date.
birdlime
Birdlime is a sticky substance spread on twigs to snare small birds. Figuratively, anything that ensnares is birdlime, as in “a birdlime of words.”
bird of ill omen
Certain birds–notably owls, crows, and ravens–have long been regarded in folklore as bearers of bad luck. That idea has been transferred to humans, so that a person who is unlucky or who always seems to bring bad news is a bird of ill omen.
bird of passage
A bird of passage is a migratory bird. Figuratively, a person who leads a wandering life is a bird of passage.
the birds and the bees
Parents and schools used to teach children about sex by talking mostly about animal reproduction rather than directly about human reproduction. Thus, it became common to refer to sex itself as the birds and the bees.
bird’s-eye view
A view from a high angle, as if seen by a flying bird, is said to be a bird’s-eye view. An overall look at something is also a bird’s-eye view.
The term bird’s-eye by itself means having or involving a bird’s-eye view, as in “bird’s-eye perspective.”
bird’s nest
A lookout station near the top of a mast on a ship is a bird’s nest.
In golf, a lie deeply cupped in grass is a bird’s nest.
birds of a feather flock together
The expression birds of a feather means birds of the same type. Transferred to humans, the expression refers to people having similar interests, opinions, or backgrounds. And as birds of the same species tend to fly together, so, too, people with similar ideas tend to group together. Therefore, a common way of saying that similar birds or similar people congregate is birds of a feather flock together.
early bird
Many birds begin to stir and sing most noticeably at the first sign of daylight in the morning. Therefore, a person who gets up or arrives early is an early bird. And because a person who starts early will probably have the best chance to succeed, it is proverbially said that the early bird catches the worm (that is, reaches the goal first, wins the prize, succeeds).
to eat like a bird
It is a traditional belief that birds, because of their typically small size, do not eat much. Therefore, a human who eats little is said to eat like a bird. The truth, however, is that birds eat more in relation to their size than humans do.
for the birds
Unwanted food is often tossed to birds. Therefore, anything not taken seriously is for the birds.
free as a bird
Wild birds do not have to worry about land obstructions; they fly where they please and when they please. Therefore, among humans, to be free in any sense, such as to be able to go anywhere or to date anyone or to take part in any activity, is to be (as) free as a bird.
to get the bird, to give the bird
In theater slang of the early 1800s, the hissing of disapproval by an audience was called the goose (because of the hissing noise of the animal), so that to be hissed on the stage was to get the goose.
The goose was also called the big bird, usually in the expression to get the big bird or simply to get the bird, said of performers. In modern American slang, the bird (hissing) has developed an extended meaning, synonymous with raspberry and Bronx cheer: a jeering sound produced by placing the tongue between the lips and blowing air.
Today, then, to be hissed or jeered (especially by an audience) or, by extension, to be dismissed from employment is to get the bird. In the active voice, the expression is to give the bird.
to kill two birds with one stone
The old proverb to kill two birds with one (or a single) stone means to achieve two goals with a single effort.
a little bird told me
In the ancient world, birds were revered for their powers of flight and vision. Many Greek and Roman soothsayers claimed birds as their sources of information. And in the Bible (Ecclesiastes 10:20) there is the following passage: “…a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” The idea of a bird carrying messages has remained part of human folklore, so that today when a person wants to keep secret, or to claim intuition as, a source of information, the person says a little bird told me.
rare bird
The second-century Latin poet Juvenal wrote the following famous passage (“Sixth Satire,” line 165): “Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno,” which can be translated as “A rare bird on the earth, like a black swan.” In the ancient world, the black swan was completely unknown (a variety was later discovered in Australia). Juvenal was using the expression rara avis (“rare bird”) figuratively for chastity. Today any rare or unusual person or thing is a rare bird, still often expressed in its Latin form, rara avis. For many centuries black swan was used with the same meaning, but now black swan is a rare bird.
Lyman, Darryl. Dictionary of Animal Words and Phrases. Jonathan David Publishers (www.jdbooks.com).
The Oxford English Dictionary. 2d ed.
