noun
Meaning 1
A small, young bird that is still confined to the nest.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: quab
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
nestling
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.
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/ˈnɛstlɪŋ/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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/ˈnɛsəlɪŋ/
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/ˈnɛslɪŋ/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛslɪŋ
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CMU ARPABET: N EH1 S T L IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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CMU ARPABET 2: N EH1 S L IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A nest; a receptacle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
The act of one who nestles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
present participle and gerund of nestle
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
young bird not yet fledged
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: baby bird
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: young bird
noun
Meaning 6
a young person of either sex
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- she writes books for children
- they're just kids
- `tiddler' is a British term for youngster
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: child, kid, youngster, minor, shaver, nipper, small fry, tiddler, tike, tyke, fry
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: juvenile, juvenile person
Narrower terms: bairn, buster, changeling, child prodigy, infant prodigy, wonder child, foster-child, foster child, fosterling, imp, scamp, monkey, rascal, rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag, kiddy, orphan, peanut, pickaninny, piccaninny, picaninny, poster child, preschooler, kindergartner, kindergartener, silly, sprog, toddler, yearling, tot, bambino, urchin, waif, street child
History
Etymology
From Middle English nestling, equivalent to nest + -ling.
From nestle + -ing.
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: فَرْخ (farḵ) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Belarusian: птушаня́ (ptušanjá) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Bulgarian: голишарче (golišarče) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Cebuano: kuyabog — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Cebuano: pispis — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Chinese Mandarin: 雛鳥 /雏鸟 (chúniǎo) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- West Circassian: кӏэтжъый (kʼɛtẑəj) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Czech: ptáče — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Dutch: nesteling — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Finnish: linnunpoikanen — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- French: oisillon — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Galician: paxariño — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Georgian: ბარტყი (barṭq̇i) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- German: Jungvogel — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- German: Küken — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- German: Nestling — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Ancient Greek: νεοσσός (neossós) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Hungarian: fióka — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Irish: gearrcach — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Japanese: 雛鳥 (hinadori) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Japanese: 雛 (hina) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Khmer: កូនបក្សី (koun baksəy) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Ojibwe: banajaanh — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Polish: pisklę — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Russian: птене́ц (ptenéc) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Russian: пте́нчик (pténčik) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Swedish: bounge — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Ukrainian: пташеня́ (ptašenjá) — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Volapük: bödül — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Volapük: hibödül — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest
- Volapük: jibödül — small, young bird that is still confined to the nest