See Also: actable(dictionary)

spoonbill (iou) and actable (iou)


spoonbill (iou)



spoonbill noun. L17.
[from SPOON noun + BILL noun2, after Dutch lepelaar (from lepel spoon).]
Any of various wading birds which with ibises constitute the family Threskiornithidae, and have a long spatulate or spoon-shaped bill specialized for feeding in water; esp. the Old World species Platalea leucorodia. L17.
roseate spoonbill: see ROSEATE adjective 1.
A spatulate or spoon-shaped bill. E19.
= spoonbill duck below. rare. L19.
Comb.: spoonbill duck a shoveller duck; spoonbill sandpiper a sandpiper, Eurynorhynchus pygmeus, of eastern Asia having a broad flat end to its bill.

actable (iou)



actable adjective. M19.
[from ACT verb + -ABLE.]
Able to be acted (on the stage) or carried out in practice.
? Earlier (E19) in the negative UNACTABLE.
acta'bility noun M19.