dotterel
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English
Etymology
15th century. From dote (“to be foolish; senile”) + -rel (“pejorative suffix”). The bird is so named as it is easy to catch.
Pronunciation
Noun
dotterel (plural dotterels)
- A gullible fool, especially an elderly person with impaired faculties.
- 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. V, letter 88:
- This poor dotterel, Sir Arthur, is playing fast and loose with me.
- A small brown-and-black bird, Charadrius morinellus, of the plover family.
- Synonym: Eurasian dotterel
- (Australia, New Zealand) Any of various small birds of Australasia thought to resemble the Eurasian dotterel.
Synonyms
- (gullible fool): dotard, dote; see also Thesaurus:fool
Derived terms
Derived terms
- black-fronted dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
- Eurasian dotterel (Charadrius morinellus)
- hooded dotterel (Thinornis cucullatus, syn. Thinornis rubricollis)
- inland dotterel (Peltohyas australis, syn. Charadrius australis)
- red-kneed dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus)
- sea dotterel
- shore dotterel (Thinornis novaeseelandiae)
- tawny-throated dotterel (Oreopholus ruficollis)
Translations
bird in the plover family Charadriidae
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Further reading
Adjective
dotterel (comparative more dotterel, superlative most dotterel)
- decayed
- c. 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster:
- some old dotterel trees