whippoorwill
/ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/
Etymology
Imitative of its note.
whippoorwill means A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
whippoorwill is pronounced /ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/.
Why “whippoorwill” is a great word
WHIPPOORWILL — [Noun] A nocturnal, insectivorous North American nightjar named for its distinctive, repetitive three-syllable call. The word is purely imitative, a sonic transcription of the bird's own cry, first attested in print in 1709. Unlike "nightjar" (a broad family term encompassing many cryptic, crepuscular species) or "nighthawk" (which denotes more aerial, urban cousins with nasal peents), "whippoorwill" specifies a single, vocal ghost of the eastern woodlands. It is the audible pulse of a darkening pine barren, a tireless, rhythmic chant that stitches together the hours between dusk and dawn from a single, unseen perch—a name that is not a label, but an echo of the creature’s solitary insistence.
noun
- A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.““Seems like I heard a whippoorwill callinʼ, and I thought to myself, Go on away from here, weʼll whip ole Will when we find him.””
- The distinctive call of the above bird.“The bird sang his whippoorwills all night.”