ibis

UK/ˈaɪ.bɪs/US/ˈaɪ.bɪs/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,700 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: ibises

An ibis is a wading bird with a long curved beak. A sacred ibis, a flock of ibises, the ibis in the reeds.

The beak curves down and is used to probe mud for food, which is what tells one from a heron at a distance. The sacred ibis was mummified in enormous numbers in Egypt, where it stood for the god Thoth.

Definitions of ibis

1nounibisA wading bird with a long curved beak.C1
“We saw a scarlet ibis standing in the shallow water of the mangrove swamp.”

ibis is a bird.

Where it comes from

Greek ibis is borrowed from Egyptian, and the bird appears under the name in the Wycliffe Bible.

Ancient Greek
ἶβις
Latin
ībis
English, today
ibis

Mentioned in the Wycliffe Bible ([https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=lev+11%3A17&ss=0&t1=eng_wyc&ns=0&sr=1 Lev. 11:17]) as ybyn or ibin, as ibys from 16th century and ibis shortly after. From Latin ībis, from Ancient Greek ἶβις, from egy hbj (compare cop ϩⲓⲃⲱⲓ or ϩⲓⲡ).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Birds

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ibis in the wild

The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains.
Ibis
The American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) is a species of bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.
American white ibis
During the breeding season, the American white ibis gathers in huge colonies near water.
American white ibis
The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red ibis (Eudocimus ruber), is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae.
Scarlet ibis
The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.
White-faced ibis

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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