Ostrich

4 definitions found

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

  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}.]
     (Zool.)
     A large bird of the genus {Struthio}, of which {Struthio


     camelus} of Africa is the best known species. It has long and
     very strong legs, adapted for rapid running; only two toes; a
     long neck, nearly bare of feathers; and short wings incapable
     of flight. The adult male is about eight feet high.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The South African ostrich ({Struthio australis}) and
           the Asiatic ostrich are considered distinct species by
           some authors. Ostriches are now domesticated in South
           Africa in large numbers for the sake of their plumes.
           The body of the male is covered with elegant black
           plumose feathers, while the wings and tail furnish the
           most valuable white plumes.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Ostrich farm}, a farm on which ostriches are bred for the
        sake of their feathers, oil, eggs, etc.
  
     {Ostrich farming}, the occupation of breeding ostriches for
        the sake of their feathers, etc.
  
     {Ostrich fern} (Bot.) a kind of fern ({Onoclea
        Struthiopteris}), the tall fronds of which grow in a
        circle from the rootstock. It is found in alluvial soil in
        Europe and North America.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ostrich
       n 1: a person who refuses to face reality or recognize the truth
            (a reference to the popular notion that the ostrich
            hides from danger by burying its head in the sand)
       2: fast-running African flightless bird with two-toed feet;
          largest living bird [syn: {Struthio camelus}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Ostrich
     (Lam. 4:3), the rendering of Hebrew pl. enim; so called from its
     greediness and gluttony. The allusion here is to the habit of
     the ostrich with reference to its eggs, which is thus described:
     "The outer layer of eggs is generally so ill covered that they
     are destroyed in quantities by jackals, wild-cats, etc., and
     that the natives carry them away, only taking care not to leave
     the marks of their footsteps, since, when the ostrich comes and
     finds that her nest is discovered, she crushes the whole brood,
     and builds a nest elsewhere." In Job 39:13 this word in the
     Authorized Version is the rendering of a Hebrew word (notsah)
     which means "feathers," as in the Revised Version. In the same
     verse the word "peacocks" of the Authorized Version is the
     rendering of the Hebrew pl. renanim, properly meaning
     "ostriches," as in the Revised Version. (See {OWL} [1].)
     

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  OSTRICH, n.  A large bird to which (for its sins, doubtless) nature
  has denied that hinder toe in which so many pious naturalists have
  seen a conspicuous evidence of design.  The absence of a good working
  pair of wings is no defect, for, as has been ingeniously pointed out,
  the ostrich does not fly.