dove
[For the two different pronunciations of this word, please click here.]
a dove with colourful feathers
a kind of bird – {‘doves’ and ‘pigeons’ are normally grouped as one, but in this item (entry) we discuss only the “dove”; and the ‘pigeon’ is discussed under its own name} stout-looking body, small heads; short necks, short slender beaks (bills); size and weight differ widely – on average, 5-7 inches long and weighs 30-50 grams; feeds on (eats) seeds, fruit, young plants – some kinds feeds only on the fruit and some others on grain – (fruit-eating kinds live in trees and grain-eating live mostly on ground); some live for only1 year and some for 15 years (in the wild lifespan is short 1-2 years, but when kept by people (kept in captivity) the lifespan is long); found all over the world, except in the Sahara Desert and the Antarctica
female ~~ hen
baby ~~ squab, chick
group ~~ dole, (dule ?), flight, piteousness, (exaltation ?); dule or pitying (specific to turtle doves)
voice ~~ coo
home ~~ (man-made) cote / dove cot; (in nature) nest (for laying eggs)
dove — a symbol of peace
The ‘turtle dove or zenaida dove’ is the national bird of Anguilla in the Caribbean.
The flying ‘white dove’ with an olive twig in its beak is the most popular international symbol for peace!
The ‘dove’ is the national bird of Fiji. (?)
The ‘Grenada dove’ is the national bird of Grenada in the Caribbean.
The ‘Palau fruit dove’ is the national bird of Palau, near Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean.
The ‘emerald dove’ is the state bird of Tamil Nadu, India.
Some kinds of doves produce “crop milk” from their throats (crop); it is not real milk but a fluid secretion from the throat area to feed their young.
Some bird experts say that the ‘doves’ that are released at weddings are not actually doves but are a kind of ‘pigeons’!
1. (a)
dove (noun) = (a) a gentle and kind person
(b) a person who prefers peace to war
(c) a constellation in the southern hemisphere (‘constellation’ = an imaginary shape of something with the stars in the sky, in this case the ‘dove’)
(d) (also called ‘inflation dove’) a financial expert/an economic policy adviser who advises on financial policy matters that involve low interest rates, and advises on inflation and its effects on economy
2. house dove = a person who prefers to stay at home all the time
3. soiled dove = a prostitute (= a woman who has sex with anybody for money)
4. dovecot = the living quarters of the wives of officers on a troopship
(a dove-tail joint)
5. dovetail = a kind of joint in carpentry
6. doves and hawks [said of the moderate and aggressive parties in a group or council]
7. bill and coo [said of lovers engaged in affectionate courtship]
8. as shameless as a dove
9. (a) as innocent as a dove
(b) as mild as a dove
10. as white as a dove
11. as happy as a turtle dove
12. to shoot among the doves =
(a) to exaggerate something
(b) to make up a story (to make an untrue excuse for something)
13. a shot among the doves [said of something done at random, done not in a proper order]
More from Animals in Language
Python
python: a large python a kind of snake -- reptile -- usually large, muscular and powerful -- grows to 1 metre …
Animals-Adder-Aye-Aye
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T …
