kingfisher

UK/ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃə/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,079 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: kingfishers

A kingfisher is a brilliant blue bird that dives for fish from a branch. A flash of kingfisher, the kingfisher's perch, spot a kingfisher.

The blue is not a pigment: the feathers are structured to scatter blue light, so a kingfisher's feather in a drawer looks brown. It needs clear water to hunt in, which makes it a good measure of how clean a river is.

Definitions of kingfisher

1nounkingfisherA brilliant blue bird that dives for fish from a branch.B2+
“A kingfisher flashed past, dived into the river and came up with a small fish.”

kingfisher is a bird.

Where it comes from

Originally king's fisher, in Middle English. Why it was thought royal is not known.

Middle English
kyngys fyschare
English, today
kingfisher

Originally king's fisher, from Middle English kyngys fyschare; equivalent to king + fisher. So named for obscure reasons.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Birds

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kingfisher in the wild

All kingfishers have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.
Kingfisher
In Britain, the word "kingfisher" normally refers to the common kingfisher.
Kingfisher
The belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, native to North America.
Belted kingfisher
The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia.
Pied kingfisher
In 2020, the belted kingfisher received a majority of student votes as a possible new mascot, which was reaffirmed in a 2025 student body referendum.
Chief Illiniwek

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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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