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ostrichmore about ostrich

ostrich

 

  4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Ostrich  \Os"trich\,  n.  [OE.  ostriche,  ostrice,  OF  ostruche 
  ostruce  F.  autruche  L.  avis  struthio;  avis  bird  +  struthio 
  ostrich,  fr  Gr  ?,  fr  ?  bird,  sparrow.  Cf  {Aviary}, 
  {Struthious}.]  [Formerly  written  also  {estrich}.]  (Zo["o]l.) 
  A  large  bird  of  the  genus  {Struthio},  of  which  {Struthio 
  camelus}  of  Africa  is  the  best  known  species.  It  has  long  and 
  very  strong  legs,  adapted  for  rapid  running;  only  two  toes;  a 
  long  neck,  nearly  bare  of  feathers;  and  short  wings  incapable 
  of  flight.  The  adult  male  is  about  eight  feet  high. 
 
  Note:  The  South  African  ostrich  ({Struthio  australis})  and 
  the  Asiatic  ostrich  are  considered  distinct  species  by 
  some  authors.  Ostriches  are  now  domesticated  in  South 
  Africa  in  large  numbers  for  the  sake  of  their  plumes. 
  The  body  of  the  male  is  covered  with  elegant  black 
  plumose  feathers,  while  the  wings  and  tail  furnish  the 
  most  valuable  white  plumes. 
 
  {Ostrich  farm},  a  farm  on  which  ostriches  are  bred  for  the 
  sake  of  their  feathers,  oil,  eggs,  etc 
 
  {Ostrich  farming},  the  occupation  of  breeding  ostriches  for 
  the  sake  of  their  feathers,  etc 
 
  {Ostrich  fern}  (Bot.)  a  kind  of  fern  ({Onoclea 
  Struthiopteris}),  the  tall  fronds  of  which  grow  in  a 
  circle  from  the  rootstock.  It  is  found  in  alluvial  soil  in 
  Europe  and  North  America. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  ostrich 
  n  :  fast-running  African  flightless  bird  with  two-toed  feet; 
  largest  living  bird  [syn:  {Struthio  camelus}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Ostrich 
  (Lam.  4:3),  the  rendering  of  Hebrew  pl  enim;  so  called  from  its 
  greediness  and  gluttony.  The  allusion  here  is  to  the  habit  of 
  the  ostrich  with  reference  to  its  eggs,  which  is  thus  described: 
  "The  outer  layer  of  eggs  is  generally  so  ill  covered  that  they 
  are  destroyed  in  quantities  by  jackals,  wild-cats,  etc.,  and 
  that  the  natives  carry  them  away  only  taking  care  not  to  leave 
  the  marks  of  their  footsteps,  since,  when  the  ostrich  comes  and 
  finds  that  her  nest  is  discovered,  she  crushes  the  whole  brood, 
  and  builds  a  nest  elsewhere."  In  Job  39:13  this  word  in  the 
  Authorized  Version  is  the  rendering  of  a  Hebrew  word  notsah 
  which  means  "feathers,"  as  in  the  Revised  Version.  In  the  same 
  verse  the  word  peacocks"  of  the  Authorized  Version  is  the 
  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  pl  renanim  properly  meaning 
  "ostriches,"  as  in  the  Revised  Version.  (See  {OWL}  [1].) 
 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  OSTRICH,  n.  A  large  bird  to  which  (for  its  sins,  doubtless)  nature 
  has  denied  that  hinder  toe  in  which  so  many  pious  naturalists  have 
  seen  a  conspicuous  evidence  of  design.  The  absence  of  a  good  working 
  pair  of  wings  is  no  defect,  for  as  has  been  ingeniously  pointed  out 
  the  ostrich  does  not  fly.




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