ˈpləvə(r), -lōv- noun
( plural plover or plovers )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French plover, plovier, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin pluviarius, from Latin pluvia rain + -arius -ary — more at pluvial
1. : any of numerous shore-inhabiting birds of the family Charadriidae that differ from the sandpipers in having a short, hard-tipped bill and usually a stouter, more compact build, frequent plains, grassy uplands, and beaches, are mostly gregarious and migratory, and include several well-known small birds (as the ring plovers) and some larger forms (as black-bellied plover, golden plover, dotterel, lapwing) important as game birds
2. : any of various birds related to the plover: as
a. : turnstone
b. : any of various sandpipers ; especially : upland plover — compare crab plover , wrybill
3. : broccoli brown