nightingale
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nightingale¹
- /ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English nyghtyngale, nightingale, niȝtingale, alteration (with intrusive n) of nyghtgale, nightegale, from Old English nihtegala, nihtegale (“nightingale; night-raven”, literally “night-singer”), from Proto-West Germanic *nahtigalā (“nightingale”), equivalent to a compound of night + gale. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Noachtegoal (“nightingale”), Dutch nachtegaal (“nightingale”), German Low German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), Danish nattergal (“thrush nightingale”), Swedish näktergal (“nightingale”), Icelandic næturgali (“nightingale”).
noun nightingales
-
A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.
Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet neere day: / It was the Nightingale, and not the Larke, / That pier'ſt the fearefull hollow of thine eare
Similar: philomel
nightingale²
- /ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/
Where it comes from
Named after Florence Nightingale.
noun nightingales
- A kind of flannel scarf with sleeves, formerly worn by invalids when sitting up in bed.
Nightingale³
proper noun Nightingales
- A surname. After the death of his [Verney's] first wife, he proposed to Florence Nightingale but she refused him. Later he married her sister, and for many years Claydon was Miss Nightingale's second home.
- A hamlet in Wheatland County, Alberta, Canada, named after Florence Nightingale.
noun Nightingales
- A temporary facility built at short notice during the COVID-19 pandemic, or by extension any other emergency. In June, the National Education Union wrote to the government, asking it to set up “Nightingale schools”: classrooms in churches, libraries and leisure centres.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: florence nightingale, luscinia megarhynchos, bird, tongueless, rossignol, conant, philomela, songbird, songster, warbler, thrush, philomel, lark, chanteuse, songstress, lyrebird
Translations
Every language
noun bird
| Español | ruiseñor |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 나이팅게일 naitinggeil |
| 日本語 | 小夜鳴き鳥 sayonakidori |
| 中文 | 夜鶯 /夜莺 yèyīng |
| हिन्दी | बुलबुल bulbul, अंदलीब andlīb, हजारदास्ताँ hajārdāstā̃ |
| Português | rouxinol |
| Français | rossignol philomèle, rossignol |
| Deutsch | Nachtigall |
| Italiano | usignolo |
| Ελληνικά | αηδόνι aïdóni, μπιρμπίλι birmpíli |
| Română | privighetoare |
| Русский | солове́й solovéj, солове́йко solovéjko |
| Tiếng Việt | dạ oanh |
| العربية | عَنْدَلِيب ʕandalīb, بلبل bulbul |
| עברית | זָמִיר zamír |
Talk about this word "nightingale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nightingale. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nightingale. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nightingale "nightingale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nightingale.Cite this
@misc{nightingale_2026,
title = {nightingale},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nightingale},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
