Meaning
Either of two species of bird of the genus Pyrrhocorax in the crow family Corvidae that breed mainly in high mountains and on coastal sea cliffs of Eurasia.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English choughe, choȝe, coo, cheo, from Old English ċēo (“a bird of the genus Corvus, a jay, crow, jackdaw, chough”) and ċeahhe (“a daw”), both from Proto-West Germanic *kahu (“jackdaw, crow”), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *gewH- (“to crow, caw, shout”). Cognate with Scots kae (“jackdaw”), West Frisian ka (“jackdaw”), Dutch kauw (“jackdaw, daw, chough”), Swedish kaja (“jackdaw”).
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
hermit-crow
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2020, 2021, 2025.