finch

noun

ˈfinch How to pronounce finch (audio)
: any of numerous passerine songbirds (families Fringillidae, Estrildidae, Emberizidae, and Cardinalidae) having a short stout usually conical bill adapted for crushing seeds

Examples of finch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The first three generations of change didn’t phase the finches. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024 Ghosts of finches future University of Amherst biologist. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024 The team used the simulation to create what the calls of future finches might sound like. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 Oct. 2024 In essence, trees developing this adaptation are not all that different from Darwin’s finches evolving special beaks to crack particular seed shells, or a monarch caterpillar’s ability to accumulate milkweed toxin to limit predation by birds. —Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for finch 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fynche, fynch, going back to Old English fink, going back to West Germanic *finki-, *finkja-, perhaps going back to an Indo-European echoic noun base *ping-, whence also Greek pínga "nestling" and, with mobile s, Greek spíngon "siskin," Old Norse spiki "tit," Swedish spink "finch" (in regional gulspink "yellowhammer" or "great tit"), dialectal English spink "finch" (perhaps borrowed from Scandinavian)

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of finch was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing finch

Dictionary Entries Near finch

finca

finch

finch falcon

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Finch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finch. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

finch

noun
ˈfinch How to pronounce finch (audio)
: any of numerous songbirds (as the sparrows, grosbeaks, crossbills, goldfinches, and buntings) that have a short stout bill adapted for crushing seeds

More from Merriam-Webster on finch

Nglish: Translation of finch for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about finch

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