Definition of porphyrio. Meaning of porphyrio. Synonyms of porphyrio
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Definition of porphyrio
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Porphyrio bellus Swamp Swamp, n. [Cf. AS. swam a fungus, OD. swam a sponge, D.
zwam a fungus, G. schwamm a sponge, Icel. sv["o]ppr, Dan. &
Sw. swamp, Goth. swamms, Gr. somfo`s porous, spongy.]
Wet, spongy land; soft, low ground saturated with water, but
not usually covered with it; marshy ground away from the
seashore.
Gray swamps and pools, waste places of the hern.
--Tennyson.
A swamp differs from a bog and a marsh in producing
trees and shrubs, while the latter produce only
herbage, plants, and mosses. --Farming
Encyc. (E.
Edwards,
Words).
Swamp blackbird. (Zo["o]l.) See Redwing
(b) .
Swamp cabbage (Bot.), skunk cabbage.
Swamp deer (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic deer (Rucervus
Duvaucelli) of India.
Swamp hen. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) An Australian azure-breasted bird (Porphyrio bellus);
-- called also goollema.
(b) An Australian water crake, or rail (Porzana Tabuensis);
-- called also little swamp hen.
(c) The European purple gallinule.
Swamp honeysuckle (Bot.), an American shrub (Azalea, or
Rhododendron, viscosa) growing in swampy places, with
fragrant flowers of a white color, or white tinged with
rose; -- called also swamp pink.
Swamp hook, a hook and chain used by lumbermen in handling
logs. Cf. Cant hook.
Swamp itch. (Med.) See Prairie itch, under Prairie.
Swamp laurel (Bot.), a shrub (Kalmia glauca) having small
leaves with the lower surface glaucous.
Swamp maple (Bot.), red maple. See Maple.
Swamp oak (Bot.), a name given to several kinds of oak
which grow in swampy places, as swamp Spanish oak
(Quercus palustris), swamp white oak (Q. bicolor),
swamp post oak (Q. lyrata).
Swamp ore (Min.), bog ore; limonite.
Swamp partridge (Zo["o]l.), any one of several Australian
game birds of the genera Synoicus and Excalfatoria,
allied to the European partridges.
Swamp robin (Zo["o]l.), the chewink.
Swamp sassafras (Bot.), a small North American tree of the
genus Magnolia (M. glauca) with aromatic leaves and
fragrant creamy-white blossoms; -- called also sweet
bay.
Swamp sparrow (Zo["o]l.), a common North American sparrow
(Melospiza Georgiana, or M. palustris), closely
resembling the song sparrow. It lives in low, swampy
places.
Swamp willow. (Bot.) See Pussy willow, under Pussy.
Porphyrio porphyrio Gallinule Gal"li*nule, n. [L. gallinula chicken, dim. of
gallina hen: cf. F. gallinule.] (Zo["o]l.)
One of several wading birds, having long, webless toes, and a
frontal shield, belonging to the family Rallidae. They are
remarkable for running rapidly over marshes and on floating
plants. The purple gallinule of America is Ionornis
Martinica, that of the Old World is Porphyrio porphyrio.
The common European gallinule (Gallinula chloropus) is also
called moor hen, water hen, water rail, moor coot,
night bird, and erroneously dabchick. Closely related to
it is the Florida gallinule (Gallinula galeata).
Note: The purple gallinule of Southern Europe and Asia was
formerly believed to be able to detect and report
adultery, and for that reason, chiefly, it was commonly
domesticated by the ancients.