Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ortolan
Or′to-lan
,Noun.
[F., fr. It.
ortolano
ortolan, gardener, fr. L. hortulanus
gardener, fr. hortulus
, dim. of hortus
garden. So called because it frequents the hedges of gardens. See Yard
an inclosure, and cf. Hortulan
.] (Zool.)
(a)
A European singing bird (
Emberiza hortulana
), about the size of the lark, with black wings. It is esteemed delicious food when fattened. Called also bunting
. (b)
In England, the wheatear (
Saxicola oenanthe
). (c)
In America, the sora, or Carolina rail (
Porzana Carolina
). See Sora
. Webster 1828 Edition
Ortolan
OR'TOLAN
,Noun.
A bird of the genus Emberiza, about the size of the lark, with black wings. It is found in France and Italy, feeds on panic grass, and is delicious food.
Definition 2024
Ortolan
Ortolan
ortolan
ortolan
See also: Ortolan
English
A female ortolan.
Noun
ortolan (plural ortolans)
- A small European migratory bunting, Emberiza hortulana, once eaten whole as a delicacy.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book VII, chapter vi
- […] this taught him to consider Sophia as a most delicious morsel, indeed to regard her with the same desires which an ortolan inspires into the soul of an epicure.
- 2003, Stewart Lee Allen, In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food, page 73
- […] the last flavor Mitterand wished to savor belonged to the flesh of the endangered ortolan, a songbird the size of a human toe that is a crime to buy or hunt, and is certainly illegal to eat. Mitterand devoured it in the traditional manner, first covering his head with an embroidered cloth, then inserting the entire bird into his mouth. […] Only its head should dangle out from between your lips. Bite off the head and discard.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book VII, chapter vi
- (US) Any of various similar birds, especially the bobolink, sora, or snow bunting.
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:ortolan.
Hypernyms
Translations
a small bird eaten as a delicacy