Turdus
/ˈt̪ur.dus/noun
A Latin word meaning “thrush,” now used as the scientific genus name for true thrushes.
Did you know?Linnaeus established Turdus as a bird genus in 1758, but the Latin noun itself is far older and appears in classical Roman writing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trosdos
“Reconstructed word for “thrush,” probably referring to the bird’s call or name tradition.”
Classical Latin
Latin
turdus
“Thrush; a songbird associated with the Roman countryside and cuisine.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*þruskō
“Thrush, the ancestor of several Germanic bird names.”
Old English
Old English
þrysc
“Thrush.”
Middle English
Middle English
thrusche
“Thrush; a songbird.”
Modern English
English
thrush
“A small or medium-sized songbird of the thrush family.”
1758
Scientific Latin
Turdus
“Genus name assigned by Carl Linnaeus to true thrushes.”