OSTRICH — OSTRICH, the largest of the birds. The ostrich, in its habits and bodily structure, has features similar to those of a camel (its Latin name is Strutio camelus). It was formerly commonly found in eastern Transjordan but by reason of being… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
ostrich — os trich ([o^]s trich), n. [OE. ostriche, ostrice, OF. ostruche, ostruce, F. autruche, L. avis struthio; avis bird + struthio ostrich, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? bird, sparrow. Cf. {Aviary}, {Struthious}.] [Formerly written also {estrich}.] (Zo[ o]l.) A… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
ostrich — (n.) early 13c., from O.Fr. ostruce (Fr. autruche), from V.L. avis struthio, from L. avis bird (from PIE *awi bird ) + L.L. struthio ostrich, from Gk. strouthion ostrich, from strouthos megale big sparrow. The Greeks also knew the bird as… … Etymology dictionary
ostrich — [äs′trich, ôs′trich] n. pl. ostriches or ostrich [OFr ostrusce < VL avistruthius < L avis, bird + struthio, short for struthiocamelus, ostrich < Gr strouthiokamēlos < strouthos, sparrow + kamēlos,CAMEL] 1. a swift running bird… … English World dictionary
ostrich — ► NOUN 1) a large flightless swift running African bird with a long neck and long legs. 2) a person who refuses to accept unpleasant truths. [ORIGIN: from the popular belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand if pursued.] ORIGIN Old… … English terms dictionary
Östrich — Östrich, Marktflecken im nassauischen Amte Eltville, am Rhein u. der Rheingaubahn; guter Weinbau; 2000 Ew.; dabei Schloß u. Gut Reichartshausen, mit Gemäldesammlung … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
Ostrich — For other uses, see Ostrich (disambiguation). Ostrich Temporal range: pleistocene–present … Wikipedia
ostrich — ostrichlike, adj. /aw strich, os trich/, n. 1. a large, two toed, swift footed flightless bird, Struthio camelus, indigenous to Africa and Arabia, domesticated for its plumage: the largest of living birds. 2. (not used scientifically) a rhea. 3.… … Universalium
ostrich — [13] Greek strouthós seems originally to have meant ‘sparrow’. Mégas strouthós ‘great sparrow’ – the understatement of the ancient world – was used for ‘ostrich’, and the ‘ostrich’ was also called strouthokámelos, because of its long camel like… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
ostrich — [13] Greek strouthós seems originally to have meant ‘sparrow’. Mégas strouthós ‘great sparrow’ – the understatement of the ancient world – was used for ‘ostrich’, and the ‘ostrich’ was also called strouthokámelos, because of its long camel like… … Word origins
