Definition of ortolan in English:
ortolan
(also ortolan bunting)
noun ˈɔːt(ə)lənˈɔrd(ə)lən
A small Eurasian songbird that was formerly eaten as a delicacy, the male having an olive-green head and yellow throat.
圃鹀
Emberiza hortulana, family Emberizidae (subfamily Emberizinae)
Example sentencesExamples
- Dali was quite impressed, though he said he himself only ate ‘food with faces’ which meant fish and ortolans.
- We used our data to test whether long-distance movements in the ortolan bunting occurred before males became territorial (natal dispersal) or during adult life (breeding dispersal).
- Like Otto's thin-crusted, griddle-cooked pizza, possibly the most controversial foodstuff to hit Gotham since Le Cirque's ortolans.
- The ortolan was so prized as a delicacy that it was almost hunted into extinction.
- After their heads have been cut or bitten off, ortolans are eaten whole (bones and all) from underneath a napkin - to hide the shame of such cruelty and gluttony from the sight of God.
Origin
Early 16th century: from French, from Provençal, literally 'gardener', based on a diminutive of Latin hortus 'garden'.