godwit

[prettygoodword]

godwit (GOD-wit) - n., any of four species (genus Limosa) of long-legged migratory shorebirds with a long, slender, slightly upcurved bill.


The name is first recorded in 1552 -- the origin is unknown, but a source used by Wikipedia suggests Old English roots meaning "good creature."

---L.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Godwits, man! They're everywhere! They were in selidor's poem in Inkscrawl, and now they're here.

They're pretty birds, and they get a shoutout in my pen pal novel.

[larryhammer]

I had a laugh when I came across selidor's bit a few minutes after posting this. They ARE everywhere. Or at least, go everywhere.

---L.

[thistleingrey.livejournal.com]

I differ with Greenoak--were it from OE wiht, we'd call them godwights.

ETA or goodwights, really, but there's precedent for modern shortening of what in OE is a long -o-: gospel < gōd spell

[larryhammer]

I was wondering about wiht > wit, but my sense of sound changes before 1500 is shaky.

---L.