Cygnine

Pronunciation varies by accent · adjective

Meaning

(zoology) Being of the genus Cygnus (swans), within subfamily Anserinae of the family Anatidae, though sometimes considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae..

Definitions by Sense

1. (zoology) Being of the genus Cygnus (swans), within subfamily Anserinae of the family Anatidae, though sometimes considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae.
2. Of, concerning, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of swans.
3. (dated) An alkaloid from plants of genus Gastrolobium, found in Australia, principally Western Australia, highly toxic to introduced animals.

Example Sentences

The genus Choristopus, Eyton, apparently Anserine rather than Cygnine, is said to possess this character […]

1949, G. L. Hendrickson, Classical Philology, Vol. 44, No. 1, page 30 alternate ...scarcely a translator can be found who conveys any other impression than that Horace becomes a swan before our eyes. One almost wonders in what cygnine dialect the rest of the poem was spoken.

But, in the cutting of it, if thou dost shed / One drop of cygnine blood, thy clumsiness...

On the whole, then, the bones of the pectoral arch in Dendrocygna — if we may judge from the two North American species of the genus — are more anatine than they are either anserine or cygnine.

Synonyms for cygnine

Antonyms for cygnine

Related Words

Word Forms

• more cygnine
• most cygnine

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