Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
linnet [lin-it] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- a small Old World finch, Carduelis cannabina.
- any of various related birds, as the house finch.
Origin of linnet 1520–30; earlier linet Middle French (Walloon, Picard) linette (French linot, linotte), derivative of lin flax (cf. line1; so named for its diet of flaxseeds); see -et Examples from the Web for linnet Historical Examples of linnet
We can’t cage our linnet, Rachel, and perhaps we shouldn’t try.
Hall Caine
She turned for confirmation to Linnet and Matthew Henry, and they both nodded.
A. T. Quiller-Couch
“I shouldn’t put it off too long, if I were you,” advised Linnet, candidly.
A. T. Quiller-Couch
“You wait till you get there before you boast,” advised Linnet.
A. T. Quiller-Couch
“Linnet’s improving,” put in Matthew Henry, with fine sarcasm.
A. T. Quiller-Couch
British Dictionary definitions for linnet linnet noun
- a brownish Old World finch, Acanthis cannabina : the male has a red breast and forehead
- Also called: house finch a similar and related North American bird, Carpodacus mexicanus
Word Origin for linnet C16: from Old French linotte, ultimately from Latin līnum flax (because the bird feeds on flaxseeds) Word Origin and History for linnet n.
small finch-like songbird, 1530s, from Middle French linette “grain of flax,” diminutive of lin “flax,” from Latin linum “linen” (see linen). Flaxseed forms much of the bird’s diet. Old English name for the bird was linetwige, with second element perhaps meaning “pluck.” This yielded Middle English and dialectal lintwhite.