Nightingale

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Nightingale \Night"in*gale\, n. [OE. nihtegale,nightingale, AS.
     nihtegale; niht night + galan to sing, akin to E. yell; cf.
     D. nachtegaal, OS. nahtigala, OHG. nahtigala, G. nachtigall,
     Sw. n[aum]ktergal, Dan. nattergal. See {Night}, and {Yell}.]
     1. (Zool.) A small, plain, brown and gray European song bird
        ({Luscinia megarhynchos} syn. {Luscinia luscinia}). It


        sings at night, and is celebrated for the sweetness of its
        song.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) A larger species ({Lucinia philomela}), of Eastern
        Europe, having similar habits; the thrush nightingale. The
        name is also applied to other allied species.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Mock nightingale}. (Zool.) See {Blackcap}, n., 1
        (a) .
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  nightingale
       n 1: European songbird noted for its melodious nocturnal song
            [syn: {Luscinia megarhynchos}]
       2: English nurse remembered for her work during the Crimean War
          (1820-1910) [syn: {Florence Nightingale}, {the Lady with
          the Lamp}]