Shrike
/ʃraɪk/noun
A small predatory songbird known for impaling prey on thorns or barbed wire.
Did you know?The name shrike is tied to the bird’s sharp cry through Old English and Old Norse forms, and the species’ butcher-bird behavior made it infamous long before modern ornithology.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skrīkaną
“to shriek, cry out”
Old Norse
ON
skríka
“to shriek, cry out”
Old English
OE
scríc
“a shriek; also a shrike”
Middle English
ME
shrike
“a shrike, a bird with a harsh cry”
Modern English
English
shrike
“a small predatory bird with a hooked bill”