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Blackbird   /blˈækbərd/   Listen
noun
Blackbird  n.  (Zool.) In England, a species of thrush (Turdus merula), a singing bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given to several birds, as the Quiscalus versicolor, or crow blackbird; the Agelaeus phoeniceus, or red-winged blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See Redwing.


Blackbird  n.  
1.
Among slavers and pirates, a negro or Polynesian. (Cant, pejorative)
2.
A native of any of the islands near Queensland; called also Kanaka. (Australia, pejorative)


verb
Blackbird  v. i.  To engage in the slave trade. (Colloq.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Blackbird" Quotes from Famous Books



... The cow-blackbird, it is true, executes a certain guttural performance with its throat—though apparently emanating from a gastric source—which some ornithologists dignify by the name of "song." But it is safe to affirm that ...
— My Studio Neighbors • William Hamilton Gibson
... Where the blackbird sings the latest, Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest, Where the nestlings chirp and flee, That's the way ...
— Story Hour Readers Book Three • Ida Coe and Alice J. Christie
... holding fast, ran by her side, keeping pace with her flying Indian pony. How beautiful and fresh the picture of her remained in his memory!—the soft white dress she wore, her black hair streaming over her shoulders, her dark eyes flashing delight, her merry laugh rivalling the trill of the blackbird which flew over their heads chattering for very joy. Before him lay the pretty brook with its rustic bridge reflecting itself in the clear water as in a mirror. That path along the bank led down to the willows where the big mossy stones lay in the stream and the silvery salmon and speckled trout ...
— The Golden Dog - Le Chien d'Or • William Kirby
... whistle of peculiar volume, mellowness, and flexibility was heard. The whistler was trilling 'Come lasses and lads' in tones as delightful as a blackbird's. ...
— Bulldog And Butterfly - From "Schwartz" by David Christie Murray • David Christie Murray
... whose face Was sweet with thought and proud with race, And bright with joy at riding there. She was as good as blowing air, But shy and difficult to know. The kittens in the barley-mow, The setter's toothless puppies sprawling, The blackbird in the apple calling, All knew her spirit more than we. So delicate these maidens be In loving ...
— Aspects of Literature • J. Middleton Murry


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