ziczachttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/ziczac_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_useziczac, n.
First published 1921; not fully revised

ziczacnoun

  1. 1844–
    An Egyptian species of plover, Pluvianus ægyptius (Charadrius melanocephalus), which by its cry warns the crocodile of approaching danger; perhaps identical with the trochilus (see trochilus n.1 1).
    1. 1844
      The bird called sagsag, or siksak, by the Arabs, is a species of plover.
      W. D. Cooley, Larcher's Notes Herod. vol. I. ii. lxviii. 285
    2. 1849
      I was on the point of firing at his [sc. a sleeping crocodile's] eye, when I observed that he was attended by a bird called a ziczac.
      R. Curzon, Visits to Monasteries in Levant xii. 150
    3. 1882
      Almost too lazy to keep his jaws open while the little ‘sicsac’ plover picked his teeth.
      P. Robinson, Noah's Ark iii

ziczac, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

ziczac, n. was last modified in December 2024.