aberdevine

noun

aberdevine

noun

US /ˈæb.ə.dəˌvaɪn/

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

Dialectal, Obsolete The Eurasian siskin or spruce siskin, Spinus spinus, a small green and yellow finch related to the goldfinch.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:aberdevine.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.