Category:Bittern

Bit"tern, n. Etym: [OE. bitoure, betore, bitter, fr. F. butor; of unknown origin.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A wading bird of the genus Botaurus, allied to the herons, of various species.

Note: The common European bittern is Botaurus stellaris. It makes, during the brooding season, a noise called by Dryden bumping, and by Goldsmith booming. The American bittern is B. lentiginosus, and is also called stake-driver and meadow hen. See Stake-driver.

Note: The name is applied to other related birds, as the least bittern (Ardetta exilis), and the sun bittern.

Bittern Bit"tern, n. Etym: [From Bitter, a.]

1. The brine which remains in salt works after the salt is concreted, having a bitter taste from the chloride of magnesium which it contains.

2. A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus Indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer. Cooley.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Bittern - Is found three times in connection with the desolations to come upon Babylon, Idumea, and Nineveh (Isaiah 14:23; Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14). This bird belongs to the class of cranes. Its scientific name is Botaurus stellaris. It is a solitary bird, frequenting marshy ground. The Hebrew word (kippod) thus rendered in the Authorized Version is rendered "porcupine" in the Revised Version. But in the passages noted the kippod is associated with birds, with pools of water, and with solitude and desolation. This favors the idea that not the "porcupine" but the "bittern" is really intended by the word.