dovekie

noun

dove·kie ˈdəv-kē

: a small short-billed auk (Alle alle) breeding on arctic coasts and ranging south in winter

Examples of dovekie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Sightings from Race Point in Provincetown included 2 Pacific loons, 11 red-necked grebes, 2 pomarine jaegers, a dovekie, 34 common murres, 425 razorbills, a black guillemot, 2 great shearwaters, 145 black-legged kittiwakes, 3 Iceland gulls, and a snowy owl. —

BostonGlobe.com, 30 Dec. 2020 For now, the dovekie population is thriving, producing just as many healthy chicks as before. —

Thor Hanson, WSJ, 24 Sep. 2021 Miscellaneous: Reports included a dovekie at Cuttyhunk Island. —

BostonGlobe.com, 17 Apr. 2021 At Andrew’s Point in Rockport, sightings included a Pacific loon and a dovekie. —

BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019 Richards confirms that monkfish can prey on small birds called dovekies, and the biggest could indeed snatch a goose. —

Rachel Ellner, BostonGlobe.com, 14 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Scots, "the black guillemot (Cepphus grylle)," from dove dove entry 1 + -kie, double diminutive suffix (from -k, -ick, -ock -ock + -ie -ie); allegedly so called from the dove-like bond between nesting pairs

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of dovekie was in 1821

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