linnet
noun/ˈlɪnɪt/
Etymology From Old French linette, from lin (“flax”), from the bird's fondness for the seeds of flax, the source of linen and Old English līnete, līnetwige (“linnet”) (> dialectal English lintwhite).
1
A small passerine bird, the common linnet (Linaria cannabina syn. Carduelis cannabina), in the finch family Fringillidae, native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa.
- I do but sing because I must, And pipe but as the linnets sing: And unto one her note is gay, For now her little ones have ranged; And unto one her note is changed, Because her brood is stol’n away.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 36:
- I heard a linnet courting His lady in the spring […]1890, Robert Bridges, The Shorter Poems of Robert Bridges, Book I, V:
2
US A house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), of North America.
- Synonyms
- lintwhite
- Derived terms
- common linnet, green linnet, linnet hole, pine linnet, red linnet, Warsangli linnet, Yemen linnet Linaria yemenensis, syn. Carduelis yemenensis)