pigeon

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pi·geon¹

(pĭj′ən)

1. Any of various birds of the widely distributed family Columbidae, characteristically having plump bodies, small heads, and short legs, especially the rock pigeon or any of its domesticated varieties.

2. Slang One who is easily swindled; a dupe.

[Middle English, from Old French pijon, probably from Vulgar Latin *pībiō, pībiōn-, alteration of Late Latin pīpiō, young chirping bird, squab, from pīpīre, to chirp.]

pi·geon²

(pĭj′ən)

An object of special concern; an affair or matter.

[Alteration of pidgin.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pigeon

(ˈpɪdʒɪn)

1. (Animals) any of numerous birds of the family Columbidae, having a heavy body, small head, short legs, and long pointed wings: order Columbiformes. See rock dove

2. slang a victim or dupe

[C14: from Old French pijon young dove, from Late Latin pīpiō young bird, from pīpīre to chirp]

pigeon

(ˈpɪdʒɪn)

informal Brit concern or responsibility (often in the phrase it's his, her, etc, pigeon)

[C19: altered from pidgin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pi•geon

(ˈpɪdʒ ən)

n.

1. any bird of the family Columbidae, having a plump body and small head, esp. the larger species with square or rounded tails. Compare dove ¹ (def. 1) .

2. Slang.

a. a girl or young woman.

b. a person who is easily fooled or cheated.

[1350–1400; Middle English pejon young dove < Middle French pijon < Late Latin pīpiōnem, acc. of pīpiō squab, akin to pīpīre, pīpāre to chirp]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

pigeon - wild and domesticated birds having a heavy body and short legs

columbiform bird - a cosmopolitan order of land birds having small heads and short legs with four unwebbed toes

Columbidae, family Columbidae - doves and pigeons

pouter pigeon, pouter - one of a breed of pigeon that enlarge their crop until their breast is puffed out

dove - any of numerous small pigeons

Columba livia, rock dove, rock pigeon - pale grey Eurasian pigeon having black-striped wings from which most domestic species are descended

bandtail, band-tail pigeon, band-tailed pigeon, Columba fasciata - wild pigeon of western North America; often mistaken for the now extinct passenger pigeon

Columba palumbus, cushat, wood pigeon, ringdove - Eurasian pigeon with white patches on wings and neck

domestic pigeon - domesticated pigeon raised for sport or food

squab - an unfledged pigeon

Ectopistes migratorius, passenger pigeon - gregarious North American migratory pigeon now extinct

pigeon

noun

1. squab, bird, dove, culver (archaic) A pigeon settled on the window-sill.

Related words
young squab
collective nouns flock, flight

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

pigeon

noun

Slang. A person who is easily deceived or victimized:

butt, dupe, fool, gull, lamb, pushover, victim.

Informal: sucker.

Slang: fall guy, gudgeon, mark, monkey, patsy, sap.

Chiefly British: mug.

Translations

حَمَامَةحَمامَه

гълъб

holub

due

Taube

περιστέρι

kolombo

paloma palomo

tuvi

kyyhkykyyhkynenpulu

pigeon pigeonne colombe

תסיל

golubgolubica

galamb

dúfa

piccione archiviare classificare colomba colombo

鳩

비둘기

columbacolumbus

karvelisskyrelisšleivasbalandis

balodis

porumbel

holub

golob

golubgolubicaголубголубица

duva

hua

นกพิราบ

güvercin

голуб

chim bồ câu

鸽子

pigeon

[ˈpɪdʒən]

A. N

1. (gen) → paloma f; (as food) → pichón m
see also clay B

2. that's his pigeon → allá él
it's not my pigeon → eso no tiene que ver conmigo

B. CPD pigeon fancier N → colombófilo/a m/f
pigeon fancying N → colombofilia f
pigeon house, pigeon loft N → palomar m
pigeon post N → correo m de palomas
by pigeon post → por paloma mensajera
pigeon shooting N → tiro m de pichón

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pigeon

[ˈpɪdʒɪn] n → pigeon mpigeon-hole pigeonhole [ˈpɪdʒɪnhəʊl]

n (for letters, documents) → casier m
to put sb in a pigeon-hole → cataloguer qn

vt [+ person] → cataloguer
to be pigeonholed as sth → être catalogué comme qchpigeon loft n → pigeonnier mpigeon-toed [ˌpɪdʒɪnˈtəʊd] adj
to be pigeon-toed → avoir les pieds tournés en dedanspig farm n → porcherie fpig farmer n → éleveur/euse m/f de porcs

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pigeon

→ Taube f

(inf) that’s not my pigeon → das ist nicht mein Bier (inf)

pigeon

pigeon breast

n (Brit Med) → Hühnerbrust f

pigeon-breasted

adj (Brit Med) → hühnerbrüstig

pigeon fancier

n → Taubenzüchter(in) m(f)

pigeon-hearted

adj → feige, ängstlich

pigeonhole

n (in desk etc) → Fach nt; to put people in pigeons (fig) → Menschen (in Kategorien) einordnen, Leute abstempeln

vt (lit) → (in Fächer) einordnen; (fig: = categorize) → einordnen, ein- or aufteilen

pigeon house, pigeon loft

n → Taubenschlag m

pigeon-livered

adj → ängstlich, feige

pigeon post

n → Brieftaubenpost f

pigeon-toed

adj, adv → mit einwärtsgerichteten Fußspitzen; he is/walks pigeon → er geht über den großen Onkel (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pigeon

[ˈpɪdʒən] n → piccione m
that's your pigeon (fig) → sono affari tuoi

pigeon

(ˈpidʒən) noun

any of several kinds of bird of the dove family.

ˈpigeon-hole noun

a small compartment for letters, papers etc in a desk etc or eg hung on the wall of an office, staffroom etc. He has separate pigeon-holes for bills, for receipts, for letters from friends and so on.

ˌpigeon-ˈtoed adjective

(of a person or his manner of walking) with toes turned inwards. a pigeon-toed person/walk.

pigeon

→ حَمَامَة holub due Taube περιστέρι palomo kyyhkynen pigeon golub piccione 鳩 비둘기 duif due gołąb pombo голубь duva นกพิราบ güvercin chim bồ câu 鸽子

References in classic literature ?

The offspring from the first cross between two pure breeds is tolerably and sometimes (as I have found with pigeons) extremely uniform, and everything seems simple enough; but when these mongrels are crossed one with another for several generations, hardly two of them will be alike, and then the extreme difficulty, or rather utter hopelessness, of the task becomes apparent.

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It was better than he dreamed, and, before he knew it, he was hard upon the pigeon. That little creature, frightened by this, the most monstrous hawk it had ever seen, immediately darted upward, after the manner of pigeons that strive always to rise above a hawk.

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One morning, whilst at his window inhaling the fresh air which came from the river, and casting a longing look to the windmills of his dear old city Dort, which were looming in the distance behind a forest of chimneys, he saw flocks of pigeons coming from that quarter to perch fluttering on the pointed gables of Loewestein.

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the gulls are hovering over the lake already, and the heavens are alive with pigeons. You may look an hour before you can find a hole through which to get a peep at the sun.

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However, she was not dead, but had only fallen into a deep sleep; and the king and the queen, who had just come home, and all their court, fell asleep too; and the horses slept in the stables, and the dogs in the court, the pigeons on the house-top, and the very flies slept upon the walls.

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All these pigeons are only side-dishes and trifles; and until I have killed an animal with cutlets I shall not be content."

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THE PIGEONS, terrified by the appearance of a Kite, called upon the Hawk to defend them.

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But I am like the pigeon that went away in the fable of the Two Pigeons.

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Beside them, on laths and perches, sat nearly a hundred pigeons, all asleep, seemingly; but yet they moved a little when the robber maiden came.

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Thousands of pigeons, their tails garnished with combustibles, had been set loose and driven toward the Victoria; and now, in their terror, they were flying high up, zigzagging the atmosphere with lines of fire.

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He meets a Pigeon, who carries him to the seashore.

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`Well, be off, then!' said the Pigeon in a sulky tone, as it settled down again into its nest.

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