Standard Lemma guide

drongo

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒŋɡəʊ

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any bird of the genus Dicrurus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A fool, an idiot, a stupid fellow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, New-Zealand, derogatory, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Malagasy drongo.

From an Australian racehorse named Drongo, apparently after the bird (specifically, after the spangled drongo, Dicrurus bracteatus). The horse (foaled 1920, retired 1925) never won a race, and by transference anyone slow-witted or clumsy became a drongo. * Alternatively, from putative RAAF slang drongo (a recruit), similarly after the bird. * Another suggested derivation is the Scottish Gaelic drongair (“drunkard”).

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: drongo — bird of the genus Dicrurus
  • Finnish: drongo — bird of the genus Dicrurus
  • Lutuv: vazung — bird of the genus Dicrurus
  • Polish: dziwogon — bird of the genus Dicrurus
  • Polish: dławik — bird of the genus Dicrurus
  • Portuguese: drongo — bird of the genus Dicrurus