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mockingbird

MOK-ing-burd · noun

English

Origin

Formed from mocking + bird, named for the bird's ability to mimic other sounds.

Journey

The name has stayed tied to the bird's core trick: some also hum as a kind of wake-up call, but the word itself hasn't shifted much beyond describing that mimicry.

Related words

It's simply a compound of mocking and bird, so its clearest relative is the verb mock itself, describing the same act of imitation.

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