ossifrage

ossifrage
ossifrage "sea-eagle, osprey," c.1600, from L. ossifraga "vulture," fem. of ossifragus, lit. "bone-breaker," from ossifragus (adj.) "bone-breaking," from os (gen. ossis) "bone" + stem of frangere "to break" (see FRACTION (Cf. fraction)). By this name Pliny meant the lammergeier (from Ger., lit. "lamb-vulture"), a very large Old World vulture that swallows and digests bones and was believed also to drop them from aloft to break them and get at the marrow. But in England and France, the word was transferred to the osprey, perhaps on similarity of sound.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • ossifrage — ● ossifrage nom masculin (latin ossifragus, qui brise les os) Autre nom du pétrel géant, gros oiseau marin brun, à bec fort, nichant sur les côtes de l Antarctique, se nourrissant de cadavres de manchots. ⇒OSSIFRAGE, subst. masc. ORNITH. Oiseau… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ossifrage — Os si*frage, n. [L. ossifraga, ossifragus, osprey, fr. ossifragus bone breaking; os, ossis, a bone + frangere, fractum, to break. See {Osseous}, {Break}, and cf. {Osprey}, {Ossifragous}.] (Zo[ o]l.) (a) The lammergeir. (b) The young of the sea… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ossifrage — [äs′ə frij] n. [L ossifraga,OSPREY] Archaic 1. LAMMERGEIER 2. OSPREY …   English World dictionary

  • ossifrage — Lammergeir Lam mer*geir (l[a^]m m[ e]r*g[imac]r), Lammergeier Lam mer*gei er, lammergeyer lam mer*gey er (l[a^]m m[ e]r*g[imac] [ e]r), n. [G. l[ a]mmergeier; lamm, pl. l[ a]mmer, lamb + geier vulture.] (Zo[ o]l.) A very large vulture ({Gypa[… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ossifrage — Lammergeir Lam mer*geir (l[a^]m m[ e]r*g[imac]r), Lammergeier Lam mer*gei er, lammergeyer lam mer*gey er (l[a^]m m[ e]r*g[imac] [ e]r), n. [G. l[ a]mmergeier; lamm, pl. l[ a]mmer, lamb + geier vulture.] (Zo[ o]l.) A very large vulture ({Gypa[… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ossifrage —    Heb. peres = to break or crush , the lammer geier, or bearded vulture, the largest of the whole vulture tribe. It was an unclean bird (Lev. 11:13; Deut. 14:12). It is not a gregarious bird, and is found but rarely in Palestine. When the other… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • ossifrage — noun Etymology: Latin ossifraga, a bird of prey, from feminine of ossifragus bone breaking, from oss , os + frangere to break more at break Date: 1601 lammergeier …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ossifrage — /os euh frij/, n. 1. the lammergeier. 2. Archaic. the osprey. [1595 1605; < L ossifraga sea eagle, lit., bone breaker (n. use of fem. of ossifragus bone breaking), equiv. to ossi (comb. form of os) bone + frag , var. s. of frangere to BREAK + a… …   Universalium

  • ossifrage — os·si·frage …   English syllables

  • ossifrage — os•si•frage [[t]ˈɒs ə frɪdʒ[/t]] n. orn lammergeier • Etymology: 1595–1605; < L ossifraga sea eagle, lit., bone breaker …   From formal English to slang

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