oriole

[ awr-ee-ohl, ohr- ]
/ ˈɔr iˌoʊl, ˈoʊr- /

noun

any of several usually brightly colored, passerine birds of the family Oriolidae, of the Old World. Compare golden oriole.
any of several brightly colored passerine birds of the family Icteridae, of the New World.
Compare northern oriole, orchard oriole.

Origin of oriole

1770–80; < French oriol, Old French < Medieval Latin oriolus, variant of Latin aureolus golden, equivalent to aure(us) golden (derivative of aurum gold) + -olus -ole1

Words nearby oriole

orihou, orillia, orinasal, orinda, orinoco, oriole, orion, orion nebula, orionids, orisha, oriskany

Example sentences from the Web for oriole

British Dictionary definitions for oriole

oriole
/ (ˈɔːrɪˌəʊl) /

noun

any songbird of the mainly tropical Old World family Oriolidae, such as Oriolus oriolus (golden oriole), having a long pointed bill and a mostly yellow-and-black plumage
any American songbird of the family Icteridae, esp those of the genus Icterus, such as the Baltimore oriole, with a typical male plumage of black with either orange or yellow

Word Origin for oriole

C18: from Medieval Latin oryolus, from Latin aureolus, diminutive of aureus, from aurum gold