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prettygoodwordwhimbrel (HWIM-bruhl, WIM-bruhl) - n., either of two curlews (Numenius phaeopus and N. hudsonicus), breeding in northern subarctic regions and having a long, downward-curving bill.
_Chiloe.jpg/500px-Hudsonian_whimbrel_(Numenius_hudsonicus)_Chiloe.jpg)
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That one being the Hudsonian whimbrel that breeds in North America, the other being the Eurasian whimbrel, which breeds in, well, Eurasia. The name is attested to the 1530s but its origin is unknown, though the whim- part is speculated to be imitative of its cry (though it's not a close rendering).
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
That one being the Hudsonian whimbrel that breeds in North America, the other being the Eurasian whimbrel, which breeds in, well, Eurasia. The name is attested to the 1530s but its origin is unknown, though the whim- part is speculated to be imitative of its cry (though it's not a close rendering).
---L.
_Chiloe.jpg){kind=link}
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Date: 2026-04-08 09:17 pm (UTC)Such a lovely sounding name! Before this education, I would have assumed whimbrel was from nautical context, perhaps the name of the fourth pulley on the third sail.
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Date: 2026-04-08 09:36 pm (UTC)Till I looked it up, I was confusing it with tumbrel.