crossbill

English

A crossbill, Loxia curvirostra

Etymology

From cross +‎ bill.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɒsbɪl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

crossbill (plural crossbills)

1. Any of various finches of the genus Loxia, whose bill crosses over at the tips; they are specialist feeders on conifer cones.
2. (law) A bill brought by a defendant, in an equity or chancery suit, against the plaintiff, respecting the matter in question in that suit.
   • 1836, Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, A Practical Treatise of the Law of Vendors and Purchasers of Estates:

     he not having the money ready […] filed a bill for a specific performance, evidently to gain time. The vendors filed a crossbill; and afterwards the purchaser became a bankrupt

Hyponyms

• common crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
• Hispaniolan crossbill, Loxia megaplaga
• parrot crossbill, Loxia pytyopsittacus
• red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
• Scottish crossbill, Loxia scotica
• Cassia crossbill, Loxia sinesciuris
• two-barred crossbill, Loxia leucoptera

  two-barred crossbill, Loxia leucoptera bifasciata

• white-winged crossbill, Loxia leucoptera

  white-winged crossbill, Loxia leucoptera leucoptera

Translations

finch of the genus Loxia

• Azerbaijani: alacadimdik (az)
• Bulgarian: кръсточовка f (krǎstočovka)
• Czech: křivka (cs)
• Danish: korsnæb
• Dutch: kruisbek (nl) m
• Esperanto: loksio, krucbekulo
• Finnish: käpylintu (fi)
• French: bec-croisé (fr) m
• Georgian: ნისკარტმარწუხა (nisḳarṭmarc̣uxa)
• German: Kreuzschnabel, Zweibindiger Kreuzschnabel,
• Hungarian: keresztcsőrű (hu)
• Icelandic: krossnefur (is) m
• Ingrian: kärkkälintu
• Italian: crociere (it)
• Latin: loxia f
• Macedonian: крстоклун m (krstoklun)
• Portuguese: cruza-bico
• Romanian: forfecuță (ro) f, forfecuță galbenă f, pasăre-cu-cioc-încrucișat f
• Russian: клёст (ru) m (kljost)
• Spanish: piquituerto m
• Volapük: loxiat

law: bill brought by a defendant against the plaintiff — see counterclaim