51Թ

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mopoke

/ ˈəʊˌəʊ /

noun

  1. Also called (NZ)ruru a small spotted owl, Ninox novaeseelandiae, of Australia and New Zealand. In Australia the tawny frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is very often wrongly identified as the mopoke
  2. slang.
    a slow or lugubrious person
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of mopoke1

C19: imitative of the bird's cry
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

No cry of beast or bird ruffles the 111 stillness, save perhaps the faint tinkle of the bell-bird or the solemn plaint of the mopoke from some distant scrub.

From

The hooting of the mopoke owl Floats on the midnight air; The prowling dingoe’s dismal howl Is chorused wide and far.

From

The Boobook Owl, though not often seen, calls "Mopoke," which sounded like "Boobook" to the aboriginal ear, but became "Cuckoo"—the best-loved bird-call of their far-distant home to the ears of the homesick first white residents.

From

However, some reliable observers, notably Mr. C. H. McLennan, "Mallee Bird," and Mr. T. H. Tregellas, claim that the Frogmouth does call "Mopoke'" occasionally, but the Boobook Owl is the bird that is responsible for the frequent "Mopoke" on calm evenings.

From

Only a mopoke called plaintively in the distance.

From

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