nidify
verbUK, US /ˈnɪd.əˌfaɪ/
Etymology First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin nīdificō (“to build a nest”), from nīdus (“nest”) + -ficō (“to make, build”). Doublet of nidificate and cognate with French nidifier.
- It is only within the last few years that naturalists have clearly determined that some species of fish make nests for the reception of their spawn […] Five or six kinds are now ascertained to nidify; and of these, two belong to the genus Gasterosteus […]1854, Albany Hancock, “Observations on the Nidification of Gasterosteus aculeatus and Gasterosteus spinachia”, in The Zoologist, 12: 4409:
- […] it may originally have explained why dung beetles do not appear when eagles nidify; […]1997, Gert-Jan van Dijk, Ainoi, Logoi, Mythoi: Fables in Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greek Culture, page 206:
1 more example
- Among the birds that nidify there and live throughout the year [...] the sultan bird detaches[.]2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 123:
- Related terms
- nidifugous