bittern
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bittern¹
- /ˈbɪtən/ UK
- /ˈbɪtəɹn/ US
Sounds like Bitterne, bitten (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɪtə(ɹ)n
Where it comes from
From Middle English bitour, botor, from Old French butor, from Gallo-Roman *butitaurus, a blend of Latin būtiō (“bittern”) and taurus (“bull, ox”).
noun bitterns
- Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae. It is a great rock or cliff on the loneliest part of the mountains, and […] is known by the name of the Garden Rock. Near the foot of it is a small lake, the haunt of the solitary bittern, with water-snakes basking in the sun on the leaves of the pond-lilies which lie on the surface.
bittern²
- /ˈbɪtən/ UK
- /ˈbɪtəɹn/ US
Sounds like Bitterne, bitten (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɪtə(ɹ)n
Where it comes from
From bitter with an unclear suffix, perhaps a dialect form of -ing.
noun bitterns
- The liquor remaining after halite (common salt) has been harvested from saline water (brine).
- The saline substance added to soy milk to coagulate it as a primary step in the production of tofu. Now we add the bittern.
- A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer.
Bittern³
proper noun
- A town in the Shire of Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
Translations
Every language
noun bird of the subfamily Botaurinae
| Español | avetoro, avetorillo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 알락해오라기 allakhae'oragi |
| 日本語 | 山家の五位 sankanogoi |
| Português | abetouro |
| Français | butor, blongios |
| Deutsch | Dommel, Rohrdommel |
| Italiano | tarabuso |
| Română | bâtlan-de-stuf, buhai-de-baltă, bou-de-baltă |
| Русский | выпь vypʹ |
Talk about this word "bittern." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bittern. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bittern. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bittern "bittern." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bittern.Cite this
@misc{bittern_2026,
title = {bittern},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bittern},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
