nightjar means any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order Caprimulgiformes, that feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects. It carries an Arena rating of 1614, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, nightjar ranks #209 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #414 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #832 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #875 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
nightjar is pronounced /ˈnaɪtd͡ʒɑː/.
Why “nightjar” is a great word
A nocturnal, insectivorous bird whose call is a harsh, mechanical churring in the darkness. The name is a compound of 'night' and an old sense of 'jar' meaning to make a discordant sound, first recorded in the 1620s. Unlike 'nighthawk,' a term often reserved for more crepuscular, aerobatic relatives, or 'goatsucker,' an archaic misnomer born of barnyard superstition, 'nightjar' grounds the creature in its true signature: sound. It is the rasp of a wooden cog turning in the hedgerow at dusk, the dry purr of a ghostly engine idling in the bracken, and the insistent, grating rhythm that stitches the fabric of the summer night—a sound that is the very texture of shadow itself.
Etymology
From night + jar (“a discordant sound”), due to the bird's harsh call.
noun
- Any of various medium-sized nocturnal birds, of the family Caprimulgidae from the order Caprimulgiformes, that feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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