Standard Lemma guide

mesite

noun · 1 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of three species of bird in the family Mesitornithidae within the order Mesitornithiformes, endemic to Madagascar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From French mésite (“mesite”), named by the zoologist Isidore Geoffroy in 1838. Perhaps from Ancient Greek μεσίτης (mesítēs, “mediator”), for these birds are of medium size.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 拟鹑 (nǐzhūn) — bird of the family Mesithornidae
  • Finnish: kyyhkyrääkkä — bird of the family Mesithornidae
  • German: Stelzenralle — bird of the family Mesithornidae
  • Hungarian: lábasguvat — bird of the family Mesithornidae
  • Russian: мадагаска́рский пастушо́к (madagaskárskij pastušók) — bird of the family Mesithornidae