aberdevine

English

Alternative forms

aberdavine, aberduvine, abadavine

Etymology

Attested since the mid 1700s,[1] of obscure origin. Richard Coates suggests that it may derive from Welsh aderyn and draenog[2] with substantial phonological modifications. (The alternative form aber-de-vine shows re-interpretation as a French compound with de.)

Pronunciation

(US) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.ə.dəˌvaɪn/, /ˈæb.ɚ.dəˌvaɪn/

Noun

aberdevine (plural aberdevines)

(obsolete outside dialects) The Eurasian siskin or spruce siskin, Spinus spinus, a small green and yellow finch related to the goldfinch. [mid-18th c.]
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:aberdevine.

References

Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “aberdevine”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.
Richard Coates, A Possible Etymology for Aberdevine "Siskin", Notes & Queries, September 2011, volume 58, issue 3.

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[1] Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “aberdevine”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.

[2] Richard Coates, A Possible Etymology for Aberdevine "Siskin", Notes & Queries, September 2011, volume 58, issue 3.