redbird meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

redbird

noun

UK /ˈɹɛdbəːd/

Etymology From red + bird.

Canada, US Any of several unrelated American songbirds having red plumage.

Then she chanced to look up and catch sight of a redbird in a tree.1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:

Canada, US Synonym of red tanager.

Canada, US Synonym of northern cardinal.

Slang A capsule of secobarbital.

Nearly every pharmaceutical house has its own brands, sold in tablets, solutions or brightly-colored capsules, on which its “detail men” keep doctors informed. Probably the most popular successors to Veronal are Seconal (“red birds” to the bootleg trade) and Nembutal ("yellow jackets").1952 October 13, Richard L. Williams, “‘To sleep: perchance…’”, in Life, volume 33, number 15, page 110:

Any of various red cars formerly used in the New York City subway system; or a train of such cars.