PIGEON


Meaning of PIGEON in English

I. ˈpi-jən noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French pygoun, pijun, from Late Latin pipion-, pipio young bird, from Latin pipire to chirp

Date: 14th century

1. : any of a widely distributed family (Columbidae, order Columbiformes) of birds with a stout body, rather short legs, and smooth and compact plumage ; especially : a member of any of numerous varieties of the rock dove that exist in domestication and in the feral state in cities and towns throughout most of the world

2. : a young woman

3. : an easy mark : dupe

4. : clay pigeon

II. noun

Etymology: alteration of pidgin

Date: 1826

: an object of special concern : accepted business or interest

tennis was not his pigeon

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.