yellowhammer

Meaning

1. A passerine bird, Emberiza citrinella, of western Eurasia, which is mainly yellow in colour.
2. (US) The northern flicker, Colaptes auratus, a woodpecker with yellow underwings and undertail and often other yellowish underparts; one of its ways of feeding is to hammer on trees to find insects (adults and larvae) to eat.
3. A native or resident of the American state of Alabama.

Synonyms

yellow bunting

yellow-shafted flicker

flicker

Colaptes auratus

Emberiza citrinella

common flicker

Translations

bruant jaune

Emberiza citrinella

Goldammer

geelgors

zigolo giallo

escribano cerillo

escrevedeira-amarela

sarı kiraz kuşu

sarıcık

Emmerling

Emberiza citrinella

verderola

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *yelwambre

Cognate with Old High German: amaro

Cognate with German: Ammer

In summary

Alteration (influenced by hammer) of earlier yelambre, yelamber, from Middle English *yelwambre, from yelwe (“yellow”) + *ambre (“yellowhammer”), from Old English amore, related to Old High German amaro (“yellowhammer”) (see modern German Ammer).