stork English · revision 938

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stɔɹk/; /stɔːk/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|stork]], [[inh|ang|storc]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[gem-pro|*sturkaz]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) related to [[de|Storch]] and [[non|storkr]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is probably related to Old English ''stearc'' “stiff”, the source of [[stark]], from the bird's stiff posture.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A large wading bird with long legs and a long stout bill (before 800).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The stork was traditionally a symbol of fidelity and was the subject of many legends.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The children's story that babies are brought by the stork is recorded in English by 1854, from German and Dutch nursery tales,^(Etymonline) probably from the belief that storks nesting on a roof brought good luck and family happiness.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – the bird.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1460 – the bird as food.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1854 – the stork that brings babies.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various large, mostly Old World wading [[bird|alt=birds]] of the family Ciconiidae, with long legs and a long, stout, straight bill.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(the stork)'' The bird as the mythical bringer of new babies.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[storksbill]]

+ * [[adjutant stork]]

+ * [[white stork]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stark]]

+ * [[heron]]

+ * [[crane]]

+ * [[ibis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}