jackdaw

[ jak-daw ]

/ ˈdʒækˌdɔ /

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noun

a glossy, black, European bird, Corvus monedula, of the crow family, that nests in towers, ruins, etc.

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Origin of jackdaw

First recorded in 1535–45; jack¹ + daw

Words nearby jackdaw

jackbooted, jack-by-the-hedge, jack chain, jack crevalle, jack crosstree, jackdaw, jacked, Jackeen, Jackelyn, jackeroo, jacket

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jackdaw in a sentence

Every morning an old jackdaw perched on a chimney outside our skylight, and entertained us with his chatter.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
Tinker hopped round him as nimbly as a tomtit or a jackdaw, and presently gave him another little taste of his steel.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng
Beneath the jackdaw's wing, where so many of our cathedrals repose, sanctity and authority would be conferred upon it.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas
He speaks yawing like a jackdaw that gapes to be fed with cheese-curds.
The Mermaid Series. Edited by H. Ellis. The best plays of the old dramatists. Thomas Dekker. Edited, with an introduction and notes by Ernest Rhys.|Thomas Dekker

The artful Jackdaw builds in the cliffs, and his cousin, the Crow, searches the shore for food.
On the Seashore|R. Cadwallader Smith

British Dictionary definitions for jackdaw

jackdaw

/ (ˈdʒækˌdɔː) /

noun

a large common Eurasian passerine bird, Corvus monedula, in which the plumage is black and dark grey: noted for its thieving habits: family Corvidae (crows)

Word Origin for jackdaw

C16: from jack 1 + daw

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012