'Woodcock owl' definitions:

Definition of 'Woodcock owl'

From: GCIDE
  • Woodcock \Wood"cock`\, n. [AS. wuducoc.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. (Zool.) Any one of several species of long-billed limicoline birds belonging to the genera Scolopax and Philohela. They are mostly nocturnal in their habits, and are highly esteemed as game birds. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: The most important species are the European ({Scolopax rusticola}) and the American woodcock ({Philohela minor}), which agree very closely in appearance and habits. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Fig.: A simpleton. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • If I loved you not, I would laugh at you, and see you Run your neck into the noose, and cry, "A woodcock!" --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]
  • Little woodcock. (a) The common American snipe. (b) The European snipe.
  • Sea woodcock fish, the bellows fish.
  • Woodcock owl, the short-eared owl (Asio brachyotus).
  • Woodcock shell, the shell of certain mollusks of the genus Murex, having a very long canal, with or without spines.
  • Woodcock snipe. See under Snipe. [1913 Webster]