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/dəv/ /doʊv/ Listen

noun

Dove n.

(Zool.) A pigeon of the genus Columba and various related genera. The species are numerous. Note: The domestic dove, including the varieties called fantails, tumblers, carrier pigeons, etc., was derived from the rock pigeon (Columba livia) of Europe and Asia; the turtledove of Europe, celebrated for its sweet, plaintive note, is Columba turtur or Turtur vulgaris; the ringdove, the largest of European species, is Columba palumbus; the Carolina dove, or Mourning dove, is Zenaidura macroura; the sea dove is the little auk (Mergulus alle or Alle alle). See Turtledove, Ground dove, and Rock pigeon. The dove is a symbol of peace, innocence, gentleness, and affection; also, in art and in the Scriptures, the typical symbol of the Holy Ghost.

A word of endearment for one regarded as pure and gentle. "O my dove,... let me hear thy voice."

A person advocating peace, compromise or conciliation rather than war or conflict. Opposite of hawk.

Dove tick (Zool.), a mite (Argas reflexus) which infests doves and other birds.

Soiled dove, a prostitute. (Slang)

See images of 'Dove'

Etymology of 'Dove'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Dove" Quotes from Famous Books

... it. If it were light, I could show you its towers. But what can a dove like you be seeking ...

— ZigZag Journeys in Northern Lands; - The Rhine to the Arctic • Hezekiah Butterworth

... in the wind all night; The rain came heavily and fell in floods: But now the sun is rising calm and bright, The birds are singing in the distant woods, Over his own sweet voice the stock-dove broods, The jay makes answer as the magpie chatters, And all the air is filled with pleasant ...

— The Ontario Readers - Third Book • Ontario Ministry of Education

... that Mal-sum by his magic power should grant whatever the beaver might ask. So the beaver asked that he might have wings like a wood dove. But Mal-sum only laughed at him. 'Wings for you!' he chuckled; 'you, who have nothing to do but paddle about in the mud and eat bark! what need have you of wings? Besides, how would you with that flat tail of yours ...

— The Magic Speech Flower - or Little Luke and His Animal Friends • Melvin Hix

... from that country, will hereafter always want to stop there. And when you land at Queenstown you are taken for an American suspect. They think you are going to join the Fenian army. They look at you as if you intended to go forth from that ship as the dove went forth from the ark, in search of some green thing. You assure them that the only manner in which you can be compared with that dove is in the general peacefulness of your intentions. Then you go wandering around by the shores of the Lakes of Killarney and the Gap of Dunloe, ...

— Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z • Various

... has been mourning O'er vanished dreams of love, Shall see them all returning, Like Noah's faithful dove. And hope shall launch her blessed ...

— Peak's Island - A Romance of Buccaneer Days • Ford Paul

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