chowchilla
chowchilla Lexical Profile
• noun
American A city in Madera County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley.
Australian A species of ground-dwelling bird (Orthonyx spaldingii) endemic to the rainforests of northeastern Queensland, Australia, noted for its loud, resonant calls.
"While hiking through the dense Queensland rainforest, we heard the unmistakable rhythmic call of the chowchilla echoing through the trees."
Word Nuance & Usage
When capitalized as 'Chowchilla', it refers to the California city; when lowercase, it refers to the Australian rainforest bird.
• Rhymes for chowchilla
Word Origin & Etymology
The word has two distinct origins. As a California place name, it derives from the indigenous Yokuts tribal name 'Chaushila'. As an Australian bird name, it is onomatopoeic, coined to mimic the bird's loud, rhythmic song.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.