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Webster 1913 Edition


Egret

E′gret

,
Noun.
[See
Aigret
,
Heron
.]
1.
(Zoöl.)
The name of several species of herons which bear plumes on the back. They are generally white. Among the best known species are the American egret (
Ardea egretta
syn.
Herodias egretta
); the great egret (
Ardea alba
); the little egret (
Ardea garzetta
), of Europe; and the American snowy egret (
Ardea candidissima
).
A bunch of
egrets
killed for their plumage.
G. W. Cable.
2.
A plume or tuft of feathers worn as a part of a headdress, or anything imitating such an ornament; an aigrette.
3.
(Bot.)
The flying feathery or hairy crown of seeds or achenes, as the down of the thistle.
4.
(Zoöl.)
A kind of ape.

Webster 1828 Edition


Egret

E'GRET

,
Noun.
The lesser white heron, a fowl of the genus Ardea; an elegant fowl with a white body and a crest on the head.
1.
In botany, the flying feathery or hairy crown of seeds, as the down of the thistle.

Definition 2024


egret

egret

English

Three great egrets, Ardea alba.

Noun

egret (plural egrets)

  1. Any of various wading birds of the genera Egretta or Ardea that includes herons, many of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season.
  2. A plume or tuft of feathers worn as a part of a headdress, or anything imitating such an ornament; an aigrette.
  3. (botany) The flying feathery or hairy crown of seeds or achenes, such as the down of the thistle.
  4. (obsolete) The crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

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