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woodcock

(-käk′)

a migratory European shorebird (Scolopax rusticola) with short legs and a long bill, of the same family (Scolopacidae) as snipe: it is hunted as game
☆ a smaller game bird (Philohela minor) of the same family that frequents bogs and swampy places of E North America
Obsolete a fool; dupe

Origin: ME wodekoc < OE wuducoc < wudu, wood + coc, a cock

See woodcock in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. woodcock woodcock or wood·cocks

Either of two related game birds, Scolopax rusticola of the Old World or Philohela minor of North America, having brownish plumage, short legs, and a long bill.

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