greyback

A noun with multiple meanings: a term used during the American Civil War for a Confederate soldier, referring to his grey uniform; also a type of bird, specifically a dowitcher with a grey back, or a sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere.

• 🇫🇷Nom avec plusieurs sens : terme utilisé pendant la guerre de Sécession pour désigner un soldat confédéré, en référence à son uniforme gris ; désigne aussi un oiseau, à savoir un limicole à dos gris, qui niche dans l'Arctique et hiverne dans l'hémisphère sud.

1. Confederate soldier C1 informal american

   A nickname used by Union soldiers during the American Civil War for a Confederate soldier, referencing the grey color of their uniforms.

   • The greybacks marched through the muddy field.
   • He was a greyback fighting for the South.
   • The Union soldiers spotted a group of greybacks near the river.

   🇫🇷Soldat confédéré (surnom)

   Synonymes: butternutreb

2. A type of dowitcher C2 formal scientific

   A bird of the dowitcher species, characterized by its grey back feathers.

   • The greyback is often seen in coastal wetlands.
   • Ornithologists studied the migration patterns of the greyback.
   • A greyback landed on the muddy shore.

   🇫🇷Bécassin à dos gris

   Synonymes: red-breasted snipe

3. Arctic sandpiper C2 formal scientific

   A sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic region and migrates to the southern hemisphere for the winter.

   • The greyback sandpiper travels thousands of miles each year.
   • We spotted a greyback on the beach during its migration.
   • The greyback's breeding grounds are in the tundra.

   🇫🇷Bécasseau semipalmé

   Synonymes: graybackknot

• greybacks plural form
• greybacks' possessive plural form
• greyback's possessive singular form